Here’s this week’s rundown of ways to connect with the liberation movement in Pittsburgh!

Please let us know if there there’s an event that is not listed that you would like us to promote through our Facebook, our blog, our Twitter, and through flyers or email.

Tuesday – 2.7

LAST CHANCE to #BringMartinHome

This is the last chance to reunite Martin with his family.

We must bring the full strength of our community to demand that ICE Field Office Director Rebecca Adducci exercises her power to bring Martin home to Pittsburgh where he belongs.

Join us in the park, a block away from Pittsburgh’s ICE office.

Last chance to show up. Bring your friends.

Please call Rebecca Adducci at (313) 568-6036 and say,

“My name is _____ and I’m calling to support Martin Esquivel Hernandez and ask you to reunite him with his family in Pittsburgh. I understand that you have the power to either destroy this family, or reunite them. I hope you do the right thing.”



If no one picks up, LEAVE A VOICEMAIL.

If her voicemail box is full, CALL BACK LATER.

The Esquivels are a Pittsburgh family. Let’s make sure they stay that way

[ https://www.facebook.com/events/1218692014875089/ ]

Help us open a Bike Co-op at Pitt!

As some of you may know, we have been trying to start a bicycle co-op on Pitt’s campus for a WHILE! What is a bike co-op, you ask? In short, it is a space where community members gather to fix their bikes, get mechanic help, attend workshops/events, and receive safety materials (see: FreeRide in Point Breeze, Alley Bike Co-op in Highland Park).

We are entering the 2017 Sustainable Solutions Competition – organized by Pittserves – for the remainder of the funds that we will need to get our Bike Cave (working name) up and running. There will be an audience vote (via your cell phones or something fancy like that). We have a lot of stuff already figured out, but we need YOUR VOTE and YOUR SUPPORT to make this happen! This is a formal invite to our friends to come to the final presentation, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017 AT 6PM – 8PM. Anyone is welcome – you don’t even have to go here.



[ https://www.facebook.com/events/1872638243016066/ ]

Dinner and Discussion – Advocacy Training

Do you or someone you love have a disability? Are you currently abled and interested in learning how to create a world that’s ready for you should you become disabled? Do you want to advocate with people who already have disabilities and chronic health conditions?

Access Mob Pittsburgh invites you to an evening of discussion and learning. Representatitves from several local advocacy groups, including the Consumer Health Coalition, Find Some Flow, Pitt Students for Disability Advocacy, and more will be there to talk about their projects and answer questions anyone has on how to be better advocates for themselves and others. Because in this time of frightening political upheaval we need to stick together and be powerful for one another.



[ https://www.facebook.com/events/1797575933827466/ ]

Wednesday – 2.8

Social protest under the Trump Presidency: Is change Possible?

Ever seen a protest and wonder, is this effective? How will it accomplish anything?

What else is being done around here to work towards change? Join sociology professors and local organizers in a panel discussion on how direct actions fit into larger work being done on critical issues. Learn about local organizing around issues such as immigration, the environment, labor rights, and housing justice—and then decide what YOU can do.FEATURING:

Sociology professors Dr. Dana Moss, Dr. Tarun Bannerjee, Dr. Jackie Smith

Local organizers Reggie Good, Eva Resnick-Day, USAS local #31, and more

[ https://www.facebook.com/events/138149656695124/ ]

Thursday – 2.9

Academics United – No Visa and Immigration Ban: Pittsburgh

In solidarity with Academics United rallies, we are going to gather at Schenley Plaza in Pittsburgh to show our support for citizens of the seven countries and refugees affected by the latest executive order.

[ https://www.facebook.com/events/175764702909638/ ]

Their Body, Their Choice: The Struggle for Women’s Rights

The struggle for women’s rights is entering a new chapter with a far-right president in power. Donald Trump has a history of sexual assault on women and has promised to set the clock back on the past gains of working class women. This has emboldened the right-wing anti-women bigots and has galvanized the left-wing feminist struggle to continue the fight forward.

Join the Pittsburgh branch of the International Socialist Organization to discuss reproductive rights, social reproductive theory, feminist history, and the struggle ahead!

[ https://www.facebook.com/events/1816937865222486/ ]

Friday – 2.10

Let us know what’s happening today, we’ll help spread the word!

Saturday – 2.11

Redneck Revolt Film Screening and Discussion – Matewan

Pittsburgh Redneck Revolt is the western PA chapter of an autonomous national network dedicated to anti-capitalist and anti-racist organizing in poor and working-class white communities.

Come and join us on Feb. 11 at 5:30 pm for a screening of the 1987 film, Matewan.

Matewan tells the story of the battle of Matewan, a coal miner’s strike whch errupted into armed insurrection against corporate power in the thick of the West Virginia Mine Wars.

After, we will be hosting a discussion on the themes of class, race, labor militancy and working class rebellion presented in the film. There will be food provided, and everyone is welcomed to bring additional food to share. Suggested donation of $5, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

[ https://www.facebook.com/events/217216165352132/ ]

US Imperialism and Central America

Pittsburgh Anti-Imperialist League

Join us for a talk on the role of US imperialism in Central America, in conjuction with the Mexican government, and its effects on the displacement of people. Our speaker Brenda Solkéz of the ANSWER Coalition has travelled to the region in 2015 to document Central American immigrans’ lives while crossing through Mexico. During her visit, Brenda spent 6 weeks with Central American immigrants in a shelter in Mexico and in Honduras where she followed the work of a human rights activist documenting disappreances of Honduran immigrants while crossing throught México.

[ https://www.facebook.com/events/1167470480030831/ ]

I Stand with Planned Parenthood Celebration

On February 11th from 9-11am we will be holding a celebration of Planned Parenthood at SPACE Gallery on Liberty Avenue. Space for the event is limited to 200, so please sign up ASAP. Because of the limited room attendees MUST sign up ahead of time to be admitted to the event. You can do so here: https://ppwp.wufoo.com/forms/p1b0sl21nw9x3o/

There will be music, speakers, postcard writing, video filming of story sharing and #IStandWithPP statements, and togetherness with other supporters of women’s health and access.

[ https://www.facebook.com/events/1787543874904802/ ]

Sunday – 2.12

Anti-Fascist Fundraiser Brunch

The Big Idea (your friendly neighborhood radical bookstore!) holds bi-monthly brunches to raise legal defense funds for local activists. All of the food is home cooked, rad people hang out, and there are vegan and GF options. Full menu to come. Recommend $7-15.

In February we are raising money for Victoria and Phil who are facing felony charges after student debt protest on Pitt’s campus. To learn more about their situation check out this website: https://fillerpgh.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/anti-fascist-legal-defense/ It also has a link to their legal defense fund so if you can’t make it out you can still donate.

[ https://www.facebook.com/events/1117099755067986/ ]

Local News and Calls for Support

The national movement for the establishment of Sanctuary Universities responds to President-elect Donald J. Trump’s intention to deport up to three million (goo.gl/zCCXcU) undocumented persons from the United States, abolish the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and establish a national registry for the surveillance of Muslim persons. Following the November 8 election, university and K-12 campuses around the country report threats directed against people of color, trans* people, disabled people, indigenous people, queer people, and all people without the privilege of U.S. citizenship; the appearance of swastikas and other hateful imagery on school property; and bullying of Muslim, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ youth. And peaceful demonstrators on Pitt’s Oakland campus have experienced violence at the hands of University police.

Given the xenophobia that characterizes our local and national climate, we cannot have confidence in our shared institutional commitments to inclusion, integrity, freedom of expression, and diversity without at minimum concrete policy statements from the University of Pittsburgh in support of “immigrants who study, live, and work in and around our University” (as stated in a November 16 sanctuary campus letter from Pitt student leaders, viewable atgoo.gl/LupvgG).

Demands:

Unless required by a warrant or other valid legal process, University of Pittsburgh officials will not cooperate with any deportation or other immigration enforcement actions directed against Pitt students. Specifically:

1. Pitt will prohibit University police and campus security from “inquiring about or recording as to an individual’s immigration status” (goo.gl/LupvgG).

2. University of Pittsburgh police officers will not cooperate with deportation or other immigration enforcement actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CPB), or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

3. The University of Pittsburgh will not allow ICE, CPB, or USCIS officials on Pitt campuses or other property.

4. The University of Pittsburgh will not share information related to immigration status about any Pitt student or employee with ICE, CPB, USCIS, or other law enforcement agencies.

5. The University of Pittsburgh will cease any use of E-Verify in student application or employee hiring procedures.

6. The Deans of Students Offices will coordinate a specific and transparent program to assist DACA students and all other students who are not U.S. citizens with any issue related to immigration or visa status, financial aid, housing, or related concerns.

7. Pitt will revise its Notice of Non Discrimination (goo.gl/IUmjjQ) and related policy statements (e.g. goo.gl/qsNOsa) to include “immigration status” as a protected category alongside “disability, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, familial status, sex, age, sexual orientation, veteran status or gender identity and expression.”

We, the undersigned, also affirm the statement in the November 16 letter to Chancellor Gallagher that “immigrants are not the only group who [have] found themselves targeted” by recent expressions of racism, xenophobia, heterosexism, cissexism, and misogyny on our campuses (goo.gl/LupvgG). We therefore support the Pitt United Students Against Sweatshops, Pitt Student Solidarity Coalition, Pitt Students Against Debt, and the Pitt Students for a Democratic Society’s call for additional actions Pitt can build toward, in the words of poet Muriel Rukeyser, “a world that will hold all the people.” Further, we stand in solidarity with Pitt students who demand an end to University of Pittsburgh police harassment of student activists in campus spaces.

Our University motto is Veritas et Virtus. Fidelity to these values requires that we not simply declare our campuses safe and welcoming spaces for all people. We must realize the truth of these statements through concrete action. By establishing ourselves as a Sanctuary University, we can take a significant step toward the realization of these commitments as facts in the life of the University of Pittsburgh.

Awaiting your action.

SIGN THE CALL FOR A SANCTUARY CAMPUS HERE



Early in the morning of February 6th, Pittsburgh squatters dropped a banner in solidarity with the anti-fascist, anti-capitalist squatters of the Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians(better known by their hilarious click-bait acronym, ANAL).

On January 25th, ANAL occupied a Russian billionaire’s £15 million mansion in one of the most expensive parts of London. The squatters converted the mansion into a multi-purpose community center, which operated as a homeless shelter and refugee-support space. The space also hosted public events, skill-shares, art galleries, and more. In their words, “If it would disgust the wealthy, you’re welcome here.”

Last Wednesday, after having spent the past few weeks working alongside marginalized communities to create an autonomous space and defend it from the occasional fascist attacks, the occupiers were violently evicted by the police. But later that afternoon, some of the squatters occupied another mansion just a few minutes down the road.

These comrades are proving to the world that we can create spaces outside of the capitalist system, spaces where we can build the autonomous communities that we want to see here and now!

Solidarity with ANAL, and solidarity with the anonymous Pittsburgh squatters!

Donate to the Pittsburgh Anti-Fascist Legal Defense Fund!

If you can, please DONATE to the legal defense of the 10 Pittsburghers arrested in DC.

We stand in unconditional solidarity with the arrested comrades.

Drop the charges! Only the State is guilty!

On January 20th 2017 Border-guards, modern day slave catchers, paramilitary, military, and armed vigilante groups converged to protect the swearing in of a new leader to the White Supremacist State known as The United States of America.

Tens of Thousands of bravehearts also converged upon our nations capital in collective defense, in resistance to oppressive everyday reality. Arm in arm, in solidarity, hundreds from our beloved Rustbelt city manifested beautiful acts of resistance and aligned themselves with fellow renegades and insurgents to strengthen vocal messages and make bold gestures of revolution.

Pittsburghers gathered in mass to protest our country that was never great and to unmake fascist America.

Efforts were made to end segregation and bring about emancipation in much the same way those who have came before us have – in the streets.

During the demonstrations many were arrested. We, the organizers of this fundraising campaign, pledge to supporter our local comrades. Regardless their perceived guilt or innocence, we have solidarity with them and their trajectory.

The confines of laws are set up against those who dare to dream and act upon another reality.

We ask you to take a moment and pause, to consider we are in this together, and that our sisters and brothers, our neighbors who grew up and live on the same streets as us, who pass over the same bridges as us, are under attack.

Contributing to this bail fund is an act of love and an attack on the proponents of a segregated society that would have us all rotting in jail cells or slaving away as subservient women and barbarish men.

We are not divided and we will not leave anybody behind. For some the thin vale of American Racism has been taken off, for others we have always known it to be true and we are glad you have joined us.

[Pictured below: Over 100 dedicated anti-fascists, including our Pittsburgh friends, kettled by armed agents of the state. “We love you, stay strong, the revolution lives on!”]