Black Lives Matter Banner Dedication

This Sunday, our Fellowship officially dedicated our Black Lives Matter Banner on the outside of our building. We had finished the second of our White Supremacy teach-ins the week before. I was asked to speak at the dedication ceremony.

Below is what I had written to share. 

........
10/22/17
We are standing here today,  in a working-class neighborhood,  in one of the most diverse communities in this country, on the weekend of the annual Alaska Federation of Natives, in the land of the Dena'ina people,

We are Unitarian Universalists, and we are well-meaning people, lead by our conviction of the First Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person. We believe in it, and we believe in taking action towards that end. 

In accordance with that principle, we have been asked by the national UUA (Unitarian Universalist Association) to join with them, in hanging a banner in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. It is an outward symbol of the work we are doing as UU's to acknowledge systemic racism and to dismantle White Supremacy. This is not a comfortable time, and this is not easy work.

I am a UU because I want to be aligned with you people. We are a fellowship of people who champion social justice. We believe all lives matter. That is who we are. We wouldn't have it as our first principle if we were not serious, and didn't believe that it was an unmet ideal in society. Since we believe all lives matter, we stand with the Black Lives Matter Movement. I will say it again. We believe that all lives matter, and that is why we stand with the Black Lives Matter Movement. 

When I participated in the second BLM march, here in Anchorage, I heard the chant, "All lives matter", and I became very nervous for our safety. I had my 9-year-old daughter with me, and there were many other children. I thought we were being met by counter-protesters with bullhorns. But the people with the bullhorns were the leaders in the BLM march. I believe it was: Call. "Whose lives matter?" Response. "All Lives Matter!" Then together. "Black Lives Matter Also."  

Our friends in the BLM movement believe all lives matter, they are fighting for the first principle. When I hear someone say "All lives matter," I give an "Amen."  We may have a discussion after that, but I am clear. That is why we stand, that is why we kneel, that is why we march, that is why we hang our banner and support BLM, because our Black brothers and sisters do not feel that their lives are valued equally. That is not their experience. 

We know that we don't live in a country of liberty and justice for all. We know that people of color, indigenous people, people who express their gender and sexuality counter to the majority, people in poverty, and people with disabilities do not get to realize their potential. 
They do not get to realize their potential, and they surely do not live in this magical world of Liberty and Justice for all that we pledge allegiance to.  There is a dissonance between what we see, and what we pledge. But that is why we are here. 

National UU asked us to do this work, around dismantling white Supremacy and asked us to hang a banner in support of Black Lives Matter. We have done that. It was hard, and we have made some mistakes. We have hurt some of our own, and we have more work to do. 

In reference to our mistakes. As a white person, living on this stolen land, I think we should have given more value to the voices calling for equal representation of First Nation people. 

It should be known, that Native Lives Matter is a national movement that stands alone. It started in 2014 in response to and Solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement. It represents all recognized and unrecognized Native American tribes, Native Hawaiians,  and Native Pacific Islanders.  They believe that the US cannot achieve social and racial equality without the vocal inclusion of its original inhabitants. The NLM movement has not gotten the press and the backlash that the Black Lives Matter movement has. I suspect that the Native Lives Matter movement is not as threatening to the establishment because there are fewer voices. There are strong voices within the First Alaskans community, but they aren't carrying far. We need to amplify their voices by adding our voices in support of our Native born brothers and sisters. Now is the perfect time. 

The leadership of BLM and NLM know that this is the same fight. They stood together in Standing Rock, they stood together in Ferguson. Each standing as a pillar in the struggle for justice.  Just as Oligarchy, the War Economy, and White Supremacy go hand in hand; They maintain power and control together.  The warriors of Black Lives Matter, and Native Lives Matter, march arm in arm, supporting each other, working together. They stand together, march together,  kneel together and fight together. We are not diluting anything by standing behind them and supporting them. 

Our culture was built on white supremacy, slavery, genocide, and the delusion of manifest destiny. So why weren't we asked to do similar work for Native Lives Matter? There could be many reasons, but I suspect the greatest is that there aren't as many voices. Our forefathers were very effective in their genocide and social suppression: too successful at breaking families, cultural ties, and spirit. 

I believe that in Anchorage Alaska, on the land of the Denaina, where poverty, homelessness, and violence are felt the heaviest on our hosts, we need to do more than stand with Black Lives Matter. We also need to stand and support our First Nations citizens in their struggle to survive and thrive. Since their voice is not carrying as loud or as strong, we need to advocate. We need to work, we need to make more connections, and strengthen our relationships, to help raise their voices. 

I believe that we can and should take up the call to hang a second banner or another meaningful action that resonates with our First Nations members. If we must measure; We know our first nation's people suffer more in poverty, violence, and oppression. On this day, they cannot be forgotten or made to feel they are forgotten.  Their fight needs to be our fight.

We decided, as a national organization and as a Fellowship, that the BLM movement is just, and appropriate. We were asked to act, and we did. I propose that we use our voices to take this call back to National. In our work to dismantle white Supremacy, we should give equal acknowledgment, equal focus, and equal support to First Nations people in our country.  

I, as a UU, a white person, born in poverty, another victim of the Oligarchy, I will stand behind Native Persons, and Persons of Color when they ask me to. 

We are not a country that stands for liberty and justice for all. But that my friends, is worth fighting for. It is worth marching for, it is worth kneeling for.  As long as we, as good, loving people, keep talking and listening to each other, we will be ok. We must trust in each other that we are all working together. 

We are standing on Denaina land in Solidarity with UUA in solidarity today with Black Lives Matter. We are patriots, we are Americans. We are the Anchorage Unitarian Universalists. We believe in Liberty and Justice for All. 

Impeachment March.

Today I am reaching out to fellow activists. I am asking you to help organize The Impeachment March. There is one being organized for July... I think that is a little late. How about you?

We have been organizing from day one working up to this event; with the Women's March, the March for Science, Black Lives Matter, Earth Day, the Climate March, the Indivisible actions, and so many others. We are on point, moving forward, towards our target.

When we strike, the evidence and path will need to be bulletproof, and it isn't, yet. We will leave that to the people in Washington. When they do their job and impeachment proceedings have been initiated, we will do ours; We will march.

To have a legal organized march, we need a permit. In most states we need a month lead time to get one. We won't have a date to base permitting on. So we need to do this march differently.

I propose an organized convergence, the biggest flash mob ever seen. We organize cells in our communities; in our neighborhoods, our churches, schools, parks, and community centers. From our cells we will march along sidewalks, and trail systems; and converge together in a designated community meetup point and rally. We will blast it on Twitter, Facebook, Emails, and News Organizations, the day before and the day of. People who haven't heard of our plans will join us.

We don't need funds and permits. We need organization, communication, cooperation and preparation. We need the biggest resistance groups to come together to help us plan. It is elegant, and simple.

We will March, and we will show our strength, solidarity, and resolve. The Impeachment March will roll with the time zones across the country. We will be the show of force and numbers that convince our leaders to stay strong and not waiver in their responsibility, We Will Be the nail in the coffin.

In Alaska, I am asking for the help of the sisters and brothers that marched across the state for the Women's March and March for Science. I am asking for the activists and partners in AKClue, and Alaskans Stronger together. Nationally I hope we can partner with the Indivisible, ACLU, NAACP, MoveOn, Black Lives Matter, Earth Day, and Planned Parenthood.

When we make the tweet, and activate phone and email trees, it will start.

We will move, we will March, we will congregate. We will show that we are done waiting. We are no longer going to be ignored. We will not just be the majority that did not win; we will be a highly visible, awoken, strident, standing and marching super majority.

It will take us all.

Lets be the nail in the coffin.

When we are done, and he is gone, we will adjust our sights to flip congress. But this comes first.

We have a world to love, wounds to heal, and communities to save from the Oligarchy.

Let's get to work.

Where do we go from here? We must move forward.

I saw this video today, KTVA Live Post of March for Science, Anchorage. I was running logistics for the event, and was not able to really listen to the speakers, so I was excited to catch some of what I'd missed. Let me first say, this is a great opportunity to hear Mayor Ethan Burkowtiz's speech. It is worth listening too. 
However, I found myself getting frustrated while listening to Eric Ruble interview the crowd. First, he fed a couple people the line, "you are here because of Trump." Trump was just riding the wave, he is a figurehead. We are fighting so more than just him. It is a nice tool to feed people the line you want them to parrot back at you, but I am glad to say it didn't work. They spoke their own words. 



Another thing that irritated me was a question he asked a few times about choosing between environmental concerns and jobs. People had a hard time stating why they felt the environment was "more important." One person stated that we could have both. I was glad to hear that, but wanted to hear so much more. It can be hard to think on the spot, I have avoided many interviews this year because of my fear of getting it wrong on video. However, on paper I can be very clear. 
To be asked to choose between jobs and environment doesn't make sense. It is a false equivalence.  We are being fed the line of equivalence in too many places, and too many people are swallowing it.  Even if it were an honest question, there could be better compromise than what the current administration is offering. 
It is not an either-or issue. It never has been. Either/or is a talking point, which is about an agenda of making certain corporations richer. Either/or is about dividing our country. It is scam being played on us, it's not real. 
I am frustrated that people don't know that solar power employs more people than coal, natural gas, and oil combined in our country. That is not an alternative fact. 
I say again: Solar power employs more people than coal, natural gas, and oil combined. 
That can become the reality here in Alaska as well. We have wind, sun, and tidal flow to draw on here. We need to change the narrative that we are an extraction state. We don't have to be. We can be so much more. We are so much more. 
The biggest employer in the state is Providence. Our largest oil production company, BP, doesn’t even show up on the list until number seven of the top 50 employers in the state. Of the top 50, there are only 8 that are extraction resource based, and that includes the service companies. BP and Conoco employ about 3500 employers directly in our state economy. What percentage of those even live and spend money here? 
We don't need to be shaking in our boots that they are going to leave or desert us. Yes we are currently dependent, but we don't have to stay dependent. 
Renewable energy technology is completely functional and working right now in forward thinking communities all over the world. It's getting better all the time. And what are we doing? We are doubling down on yesterdays answers. Keeping our feet in this magical past where America was great. It is a devastating mistake. The future of energy production is renewables, period.

Other countries are going to beat us into the ground in renewable technologies. They know we are killing ourselves, poisoning ourselves, because of our dependence on the dole of the oil companies. They will have no competition from us. We are cutting off the knees of renewable energy companies, and literally paying the fossil fuel industry to stay and continue with their destructive technologies. We are paying the 1% to keep getting richer. 
We have the technology to make money with cleaner energy sources, we just have to choose the make the switch. There will be a hell of a lot of jobs involved in this. 
Unfortunately we are reluctant to change from what we know. We are reticent to act to protect future generations. We are left standing in obstinance, and fear which are predicated on false nostalgia of our country's past. We are doing the opposite of making America great. We are dragging ourselves backwards instead of moving forward. We are doubling down on a worn out bet, making ourselves more dependent on a failing system. 

We are the country of the first car, the first plane, the first humans on the moon, pc's, Apple, and the internet. We have done so much in the past, and we can do more.
We must look beyond this idyllic falsified idea of greatness that has us standing still in time, or trying to turn back. Let's turn away from that past, and move on to an amazing future. We have the technology to harness the energy of the sun, the moon, and movement. We already employ more people in these technologies then in extraction technologies. Lets keep moving forward. 
Move, change, learn, work, grow, work some more; then accept the gifts that will come.
The future is bright and clear if we make the choices to make it so. The options are out there. 
Get educated on renewable's. They are the science and economy of the future, if we want a future.
I want that future, and I am fighting for it. 

Team Building Struggles

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary,

How will your garden grow?"

In the aftermath of the election there has been an explosion of energy and life. Seeds of resistance are sprouting everywhere. It has been heartening to see and experience. So many of us have stepped in and stepped up to civic activism. I believe we want to do more than just bloom, like the flowers in the California desert after so much rain. We want to do more than look pretty and die.
Most plants have phyto-chemicals; toxins, that actively kill other non-self plants. It gives them more room for growth, and reduces competition for nutrients. It is self preservation.
As our seeds are taking root, we are finding similar growths in competition with us. We have to decided if we want to work with, or against the others, what do we want to spend our energy fighting against? I believe most of us want to protect our planet, protect science, protect civil rights, and our constitution. I hope that it is enough that we can feel each other as similar. I hope that we can resist the urge to use our tools of self preservation on one another.
I am new to the scene of civic activism, other than behind the scenes. I am not new to group projects, and how difficult they can be to get through. But the group projects we are working on now have higher stakes than grades. We are trying to protect our planet, our country, and our families. I am very disturbed at how quickly people are turning against their team members.
We are not all going to have the same techniques, the same methods, and not all of the same values. However I believe we have enough in common to put in effort to work together. Right now I am seeing effective, strong people; insult, undermine, and exclude people that they don't work well with. I am seeing a lot of dividing and conquering in teams. The Machiavellian mechanization's could be comic, if it weren't for the stakes.
Insulting, undermining, and excluding are not very sophisticated forms of teamwork. It is effective to help amass control. You can get to your end goal. I just hope that we can have more value in each other. Human's can discuss concerns and disagreements. People can be managed, effective teams can be put together. We don't have to resort to back biting and undermining.
I don't want to have to step away because I can't stand the site of blood in the water. We should be working to lift each other up. Yes, divide and conquer can be very effective in strategy an battle, but we should not be battling each other.
Can we see each others as similar enough that we hold the toxins, hold the back biting and undermining, and try out different methods of conflict resolution and team building? The seeds growing next to you that are different than you could be helpful. Those around us with similar goals can be great allies. We really we do all have the same goals right now.
The differences are minimal. They can be worked through. This should be bigger than our egos, and concern about how "we look." We are people that have not worked together before. There will be difficulties, there will be poor communication. Some people won't work well together, It will happen.
We have to decided if we want to work with, or against the "others." What do we want to spend our energy fighting against? Can we see the person that is annoying us as an ally? Can we see the person that made a mistake as a colleague worthy of communication? Can we listen to words of people vs words repeated from another person?
Insulting, undermining, excluding; divide and conquer- they are effective. They will take you far. But please consider using your energy in team building. We need all the allies we can get in this battle. 
How will our garden grow?

In Defense of the Affordable Care Act.

I spoke a few weeks ago at the ACA rally here in Anchorage.

Below is an edited version of some of my reasons for supporting the ACA.

My name is Jeanna Duryee. I am a veteran of the US Army where I honorably served during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. I went to school using the GI Bill, scholarships, and Student loans. I graduated from the University of Southern California in 2001 with my doctorate in Physical Therapy. I have been living and working in Alaska as a Physical Therapist since 2002.
I own an outpatient PT clinic. That means I treat people who need PT, but are not sick or disabled enough to be hospitalized or stuck in their home. I treat Alaskans from five years old, to 95 years old: People who have had accidents falling on the ice, in car accidents, or are hurt on the job. I work with people who have diseases that limit their capacity to move, work, and care for themselves or others. It is a very good job.
Many offices do not take Medicaid and Medicare patients. I do, because it is the right thing to do. Since I accept Medicaid, when many don’t, close to 50% of my patients are Medicaid clients. I want to tell you who those people are. I want to discuss the false narrative of the “welfare mom,” or lazy people who are working the system. I want you to know who will be losing coverage with the current plans to replace the ACA.

• I have many single parents that are working two jobs, neither job provides health care. They rely on medicaid for themselves and their children. I see injuries and pain that make it hard to get up every day and take care of themselves, let alone work 40+ hours a week. They just want to feed their families. 
• I have a client who worked as a CNA in a nursing home for 20 years, which is back breaking work. She didn’t retire with a benefits package, is too young for Medicare, but her body is broken.
• I have a patient who is in her mid forties who has been a PCA for 20 years, and her body is starting to give out. She works full time, has 3 kids, and goes to school 16 hours a week. She and her kids are on Medicaid.
• I have a client who worked 15 years as a fire jumper, and had to retire to an unrelated disease, and cumulatively, his body is broken. He is too young for Medicare, and broken.
• I have seen many who were injured on the job who are to loyal to their owners or to proud to file a worker’s comp claim. They are disabled, in pain, and can't get better to be able to find other work without medical care.
• There are many tradesmen in our state that are on Medicaid. If you aren't lucky enough to have a union job or work for the state, you have usually have no benefits. Most plumbers, electricians, and construction workers have no health care. 
• I even have had union patients who have paid me out of their own pockets or with barter, because they didn’t have coverage because of injuries incurred in between their contract work. 

Many business owners say, "laborers are like trucks, you run them till they die, then you get a new one."
Well, when the laborers “die” or when their bodies are too broke to work anymore, they have a lot of life left in them. Think about it. If you started work at 20, and you are "lucky" to work 25 years, that makes you 45 years old. That is 20 years out from qualifying for medicare. You might be able to find a low wage part time job to help you feed your family, but those jobs don't offer insurance either.
These are Alaskans in heart and spirit. They are Americans. They are hard working and proud. They do not deserve to be abandoned to sit crippled in their homes and rot, while their families fall into poverty. They deserve to be seen and treated. They deserve our respect, they deserve our protection, they deserve health care. These are Alaskans I am proud to call my friends and neighbors.

People who have health care because they have a full time job with benefits are not any better people than the people on Medicaid. They are not any more deserving of mobility and pain relief. Our brothers and sisters who are on Medicaid need their coverage desperately, because it is part of a fragile network that allows them to work and feed their families.

The ACA as bogeyman is a false narrative. It has been a talking point target demonized. It is a rallying cry. It was almost a mob-mentality the last 4 years in congress trying to take it down. It has faults, but those can be amended. You don’t have to blow up a bridge if you don’t like it’s structure.  Blowing up a bridge might feel good. But to blow up a bridge while people are crossing, trying to save their lives, Who does that? It is ugly, and vengeful.

We can fix the ACA. It is the right thing to do. Our Alaskan brothers and sisters deserve better than what is being offered by congress now, which will affect all of us. There are arbitrary caps on care, funding slashed, countless Alaskans will be plain and simply cut off the roles. There safety net from falling into abject poverty and homelessness will be gone.
You aren't safe from harm if you have insurance already. In Alaska each filer will loose an average of $10,000 in tax credits. This is twice what the next state's citizens would loose at $5,000.

Americans and Alaskans, our brothers and sisters, all of us deserve better. They ACA can and should be amended. We don’t have to blow up the bridges. We don’t have to destroy our people, and cannibalize each other. There is money out there, we just need to decide what our priorities are.

Please let us amend the ACA, and make a health care system that is not rated last in the industrialized nations. Let's make health care a right, not a privilege. Lets continue to work for Liberty and Justice, for All.

Civil Unity I

So am I getting an education in my social activism. I have long been a quiet activist for social justice. Since the election I felt that my quiet activism was not enough.

I recently took up supporting and promoting a commemoration of the American Civil Rights movement. In the process I have learned the term "civil rights" does not mean the same thing to every one. So I looked it up.

• civ·il rights noun: the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality

That is what I always have understood. It runs with my mantra: Liberty,and Justice, For all. However it does not necessarily run parallel with the Civil Rights Movement in many people's minds. The civil rights movement is more about the history of oppression and activism of African American's in our country that lead to the historic Civil Rights act of 1965. Which is not that long ago. The wounds of that time are real. The wounds of today are real. The Civil Rights Act is for the protection of all Americans, and came to us from the hard work of African Americans and their Allies. 

I am a white women, and limited in my world view by my experience walking through my life in privilege. My experience might be broader than the average white woman. I grew up very poor, with a mentally ill parent. I joined the military, and met people from all over the world. I have lived in a community where I was a minority for three years, I have traveled and visited five different countries, I have been called poor white trash, and a nasty white girl. I have seen the results of  racism in the uneven application of violence and incarceration to people of color in law enforcement in my country, I have lived through mass shootings in my country the worst being the Pulse night club massacre. 

When I look at all of the data of who is at the most risk of violence and discrimination in my country, it is very clear that people of color, and people of the LGTBQ community are the most at risk of murder. So the intersection of LGTBQ people of color are those who have the greatest need for civil rights protection. They are the most vulnerable, and live the most in fear. They are not a side note. They are not a tic mark box of inclusion. It is not about political correctness. For me it is about standing up for civil rights and civil liberties for my fellow human beings. I can not represent women of color. I can represent myself, a white woman, and the Anchorage Women's March. They are clear. I am clear. We will only associate ourselves with events that place LGBTQ heroes parallel with all others. 

We are in dark times for civil rights in our country. We are all under attack. We need to stand together if we are going to be effective, we can not afford to alienate powerful allies. In this town, the pride parade festivities had 10,000 attendees. That is a very powerful contingent of people. They know how to fight. We need their help if we are going to be successful at protecting health care, protecting our environment, protecting civil rights, and protecting our reproductive rights. My goal is that we move forward together in solidarity, in synergy. 

I will stand behind my sisters of color. I will give all the support I can. I will step away from those that will not support and fight with the LGBTQ community. I will stand behind those that will be inclusive.

Do We Really Stand Together With Our Sisters?

So does anyone remember the signs being held up around the country that said things like, "I hope to see all of you nice white women at the next Black Lives Matter event." ? There were many articles written about how many women of color were put off by the Women's March, and how it came from a place of privilege. Women of color did show up, but not in the same ratio as whites. Many of them chose to stay home, their own strike of sorts. In my google search of the topic my take away was that they didn't feel that white people were going to be out for more than that one day, or that we wouldn't put ourselves out there any farther than our own personal self interest.

To be honest, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be to get women of color to join the team for the Anchorage Women's March. We worked really hard to be "inclusive." We wanted to represent as much of the diversity of this state as we could. We got wonderful people to join us, but we had way more people ignore or decline our invitations. In the end, it was mostly white women steering, and who came out. We were still "successful," It was wonderful, but we know we fell short of our goals. Maybe it was because we didn't have experience with doing this sort of thing before, maybe we just needed more time to get it right. I don't know.

So about five weeks ago when I heard about a commemoration march for the Selma, that was being led by Women of Color, I was so excited. Here was the end of the call to action.

*****Throughout history, black women have been instrumental in gaining civil rights for all Americans. We worked to gain the right to vote in the Suffrage Movement and was asked to march behind white women. We worked to gain civil rights in the Civil Rights Movement and was asked to march behind black men.

Now, we are leading our way to change. We are asking our allies to stand WITH us or stand BEHIND us.

Where will you stand on March 5th?

*****

I thought, now is our chance to show women of color that we white women have got their backs. The cause is righteous. People from all over the country came to Selma in 1965 to peacefully walk together to protest racial equality, to promote the right to vote for every American. It was a peaceful protest, marked with two murders, and many more casualties. The patriots that marched helped to bring about the Civil Rights Act. Most of the slogging and hard work years before was done by African Americans. Now our democracy is being threatened on multiple fronts, and the teeth of the civil rights act are slowly being extracted. That and gerrymandering are destroying our Democracy. We need to stand together now more than ever.

So I waited to hear about how National for the Women's March was going to support the march in Selma. I waited for 2 weeks, and nothing. I started checking in and asking, and heard more crickets. Then I started to push. We are not an exclusive movement. Women's Rights are human rights. We all rise together.. Those are all great slogans, right?! But why was nothing happening?

I found a few other women at National who were also in shock at the lack of support they were witnessing. That and other issues started Women's March National to fracture.

Then I decided to search for women in Anchorage who would be willing to organize the Salute March here. Again, I was shocked at the reticence in African American women to put themselves out there. But they did. An amazing group of women decided to take up the call.

Now we are a week into the campaign, and we have only 15 shares of the fund raiser. I am wondering where are the thousand Anchorage women that were supporting the the Anchorage Women's March at this time? Well I am assuming that we just haven't reached them yet. You are reading this, and you know.

Can you please help us out and spread the word, save the date.. Also please share the campaign fundraising page. . The statistics work out to $5,000 for every 1,000 shares in all campaigns. So even if you can't donate, each share turns out to be worth 5.00. For the Anchorage Women's March, the average donation was 50.00. We raised 13,000 that way. The cost for the Selma Salute is just over a third of that. As of right now we have 15 shares, and wouldn't you know it, we have 150.00.

I think that we can do this. Please join me in standing behind my sisters. Lets show America where we stand, and what we believe in;

Liberty, and Justice, for ALL.

campaign fund raiser.
Facebook Event Listing, March 5th, Anchorage Town Square 2 pm

Don't Get Weary Children

Don't get Weary Children

Please follow this above link, listen. The patriots honored in this video have a lot of wisdom to share with us in our fight.

"It did not happen in a month." "The work was bone wearying." It is amazing.

I know that people don't want to keep reading these blogs and posts. We are all tired. It is overwhelming.

We are only a month into the new administration. Really, just a month. It feels like a year. Every day is a new affront. We are actively fighting to protect our public schools, the EPA, voting rights, religious freedom, free press, and the reality of science and the scientific method. Sadly there are many of our neighbors that find those things threatening. It is surreal.

We are in Alaska. We want to be doing our winter crafts and sports. We want to be in our homes with our families and friends without worry. We are all tired, but we aren't done. Those working to hijack our democracy aren't done.

In 1965 patriots worked so hard and succeeded in laying down the foundation for civil rights in America. Many of us thought the work was done. We thought we could rest, happy in our pursuits.

The last ten years men have been working to chip away at the Civil Rights act. More laws are being passed all the time. They have been successful at suppressing and negating votes of Americans through gerrymandering. Our democracy is truly under attack.

It has been picking from many directions. Now they are bringing out the sledgehammers, to weaken our foundation. The four walls of our civil society are under attack; Law and Order, Separation of Powers, Separation of Church and State, and true Democratic Process. Students of history can see down that dark tunnel they are steering us down. I do want to fight the return of those darkest days in America. I know that I have to resist. We have to fight. This effects all of us.

We have to protect our foundation. We have to stay awake and engaged.

Let their words inspire you. Let's "Suck it up," "Keep on Keepin On."

"Don't you get Weary Children"

"We are the foot soldiers and the sergeants."

Please join us at the rally this Sunday.

Civil Rights Rally, Salute to Selma, Sunday March 5th, Anchorage Town Square, 2pm

Editing 12/16/17
That cold Selma Rights Rally has passed, but our perdicament has not changed. We know now our fears were not exaggerated. Our hard work continues. Right now I am asking my fellow weary advocates to consider putting some of their work into the Poor People's Campaign.

"In the Spring of 2018, the Campaign will launch with 40 days of moral action (from May 13th until June 21st) in at least 25 states and Washington D.C. By engaging in coordinated and collective nonviolent civil disobedience and direct action across the nation, we will confront the enmeshed and inseparable evils of systemic racism and other forms of discrimination, poverty, the war economy, and ecological devastation, begin to shift the distorted moral narrative of our nation, advance common demands for transformative change, and build power to continue this fight long after June 2018."  Rev Barber, 

This is a resumption of work initiated by Martin Luther King. This is what he was working on when he was assassinated; a year to the day after coming out against the war in Vietnam. He was connecting the war economy with white supremacy, poverty, and fermented racial unrest. He was working to unite the working poor of all races to become the leading voice for moral social change. Meaning the poor would be the voice for change. That is the goal of the Poor People's Movement. 

Coming up in January there is going to be training in Rally, North Carolina for some of the team. It will be musicologists, and an artist, and video historian, January 25 until Sunday, January 28, 2018. for a Theomusicology and Cultural Arts Convening. We believe we have the theomusicologist identified, but are still not settled for artist and videographer activists. This will be a training on the music, visual representation, art of this movement, and civil disobedience strategies. We need to be on message and coordinated.  I attended a training with Dr. Rev Barber in Seattle last month. The training was no charge, but I paid for travel and housing on my own. My understanding is that we are looking for ways to pay for the travel and lodging for those attending this training.   

We will be looking for 1000 people to participate per state in civil disobedience in the 40 days. We will be looking for people to travel to Washington in a caravan across the country like they did 50 years ago. We need a single Alaskan Lawyer who will coordinate the national team of lawyers assisting in maintaining legality, and helping manage our civil disobedience plan in the state. We will be looking for people to assist in a myriad of ways. It is going to be big.

We especially need to expand our First Alaskans leadership core. That is our biggest deficit. We can not lead and represent First Alaskans without their guidance. So any and all connections you can help foster will be helpful. We are about to identify a date for an informational meeting. I will pass that on as soon as I get it. In the meantime, I have tons of literature and information I can share. 

I was motivated to be engaged and assisted in organizing the local Women's March, and the March for Science because I do not believe that my country is standing up to its ideal of Liberty and Justice for All. I feel that National Poor People's campaign has the potential to do more in the fight for lasting change in the social structure of our country. At this time of protracted war, lack of moral leadership, and expanding poverty, we the people are looking for viable ways to enact change.

Even if you aren't able to participate in organizing, please pass on the information. 

Here is the specific link to a form you can fill out to volunteer. This will add your information to our state and national database. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScTvNlethQeIs9LTH2PNaesZ-xUYQIsvtM_oVhjZFpfJeQgbQ/viewform

Success

I recently participated in organizing the Anchorage Women's March. One of my responsibilities was running the fund raising campaign. We ended up being very successful.
This is the letter I sent to the contributors to the campaign.

It is the morning after. I am writing to check in with my co-conspirators. In the next week I will do the exact math and report back to let you know how the money was dispersed. In the meantime, I wanted to let you know that we have been successful. We have meet and exceeded so many of our goals.

• We raised enough money to cover all  of our expenses, both predicted and un-predicted. 
• We raised enough money to cover the permitting expenses of our Sister Marches.
• We had a single generous donor pay for all the food in the Williwaw concert venue. It was such an unexpected and generous gift. 
• We gathered 3500 people in a snow storm to represent our concerns. 
• We all collectively participated in the largest organized event our planet has ever seen.  There were over four million of us.
• We lifted our own spirits and the spirits of our neighbors.
• We were inspired by our elders, and our up and coming leaders.

I am so thankful to have been able to be a part of this process. It was so uplifting, and empowering.  It is what we needed, because we have a long road ahead.

The pundits are saying we are going to fall by the wayside like the Occupy Movement. They did not fall by the wayside in my opinion. I think that perhaps they  re-grouped and learned. Like in any war there are battles that are won and lost. We are not done. We have not been defeated. We are not in-power right now, but we are empowered now.

We must keep our feet on the ground and moving forward.

I had an interview today with a right leaning journalist who told me he had a similar interview with people from the Tea Party movement when they were getting started. I asked for comparisons. He mentioned that the Tea party movement wasn’t really amalgamated until a year into the Obama administration.  He noted our energy passion. In comparison, we are boots on the ground, organized and are exponential in numbers compared to them on day one (my words).

He said they had an organized message, measurable goals, talking points, and plans of action to meet those goals. They were successful in making the most obstructive congress ever and eventually electing the mess we are dealing with today. He felt that we were not as clear. He noticed that every speaker spoke about something different. Like we were, “all over the map.” We want reproductive rights, respect, health care, environmental protection, native rights, science, equality... I got his point, he feels we want a lot. To him, the message is muddied. My response to this concern is:

1.   Women have been multi-tasking for centuries, because we have to.

2.   With our exponential numbers, we can divide and conquer. We have the numbers on our side.

3.   All the above can be condensed into one single desire: Liberty and Justice for All. We are ready to fight for it.  

When we met in the Williwaw venue, we had gathered a small portion of the social justice working groups in Anchorage. We could not fit everyone who wanted to be there, but we tried to get a good representation of the options you have available to you. You can connect with the cause that speaks to you the strongest. 

If you want to become more politically active, get a hold of Alaska Women for Political Action. If you want to protect our salmon and other wildlife, here is a link to 11 different environmentally active groups in Alaska that you can choose from. If you want to work to promote Native Rights, you can work with First Alaskans Institute. If you don’t think companies should have person-hood rights, connect with Move to Amend . If you want to protect our public schools, please work with Great Alaska Schools. If you would like to help support refugees, you can pair with Catholic Social Services. If you want to work within a religious organization, the two local churches that actively supported our march were the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, and the Anchorage Lutheran churches. Don’t get overwhelmed. Pick one and act. If you can, give.

We have to remember that we are the majority. We are stronger together. We must follow up on our pledges to act. We must vote. We must attend political meetings.  We must connect with people who aren’t voting. We must learn how to communicate effectively with people we don’t agree with. We have to re-learn civil discourse and teach it to our children.

So, it remains to be seen if we will be successful with the biggest and most important goals of all.

·        Will we stand fast in the face of the upcoming onslaught?

·        Will we work together to defend our neighbors?

·        Will we back up our words and marches with action?

·        Will we turn around the congress in the next election?

·        Will we protect our environment?

·        Will we bring a wave of women into public office?

·        Will we make our country and world the place we want it to be?

·        Will our daughters and granddaughters be safer than we were?

We know we have not been defeated. We know that we are not in-power right now, but we are empowered now. They know we are coming.

It is up to us. It is up to you.

You have your marching orders.

• 49 Moons-. Local Clearing house for events, and information to get through the next 49 moons.
• Indivisible-National Clearing house for resistance to the Trump/Pence agenda. 
• Planned Parenthood.
• First Alaskans Institute
• Identity Alaska
• Alaska Women for Political Action
• Black Lives Matter
• 11 different environmentally active groups in Alaska
• Move to Amend 
• Bridge Builders of Alaska
• Great Alaska Schools.
• AWAIC
• Catholic Social Services
• Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
• Anchorage Lutheran churches