Our New Executive Director will be Deidra EmEl; office opening; Support Cuba & Water Protectors, and more!
716-332-3904 | Friday, April 30th, 2021 | wnypeace.org
Dear Friends,
We’re happy to announce, for those of you who have not yet heard, that our next Executive Director will be Deidra EmEl!! Deidra is a longtime peace and justice community activist and well known to many in Buffalo and WNY. Deidra has been with the WNY Peace Center for years, as a volunteer and activist, and a vital part of our team since Feb 2018, as Office Mgr/Coordinator. Deidra has the vision and lifelong dedication to #PeopleAndThePlanet, to #MoralIntegrity and #UniversalSolidarity; and to #UnarmedTruth and #UnconditionalLove, to lead us as we continue to #UniteTheStruggles.
Deidra will be Co-Director with Vicki Ross through the month of May, and will be the sole Executive Director as of June. We couldn’t be more grateful to and for her, and more excited about our next phase as an organization! Andare!!
We also have a pressing need for more administrative help, certainly now and possibly into the future. If you have skills and interest to work for ~10hours/week, on QuickBooks and various Office Management task, please send us your resume to be considered for an interview. A job description with tasks etc. is at the bottom of this email.
Tomorrow, come celebrate with us as we join in the Open Buffalo organized Know Your Rights cookout at MLK Park, Noon-3pm; all about the legalization of marijuana through the Community Restoration Project. Free food, music & info. More below.
We’re also joining with CodePink to Divest From the War Machine: Follow the $$$; on Tuesday at 8pm. This zoom will give us the info and the means to work on moving the money from the bloated, wasteful Pentagon budget that is responsible for so many crimes of commission and omission. Join us for this important effort, and again – onward!!
We’re especially excited too, about two events on Wednesday, Cinco de Mayo, 5/5: first, a fundraiser from noon-6pm and beyond, at 1299 West Ave, Buffalo, for the Water Protectors’ & WNYPC Environmental Justice Taskforce’s Expedition to MN. Two vehicles will caravan to MN to join Winona LaDuke and HonorTheEarth’s MayDay, MayDay on Mother [Earth]’s Sunday, to #StopLIne3. More info (incl re the Spaghetti Dinner and donating items for the Chinese Auction/Raffle) below.
Then, again on Weds, 5/5, at 7pm, don’t miss a special opportunity to zoom with Gail Walker, Director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace at a special info-session and fundraiser for our beloved community in Cuba. Cuba is a world leader in medicine and solidarity. Come for inspiration, education, and action!! – see you virtually there!!
Please see details and much more – including special and regularly scheduled events this week – plus campaigns, fundraisers, and more at wnypeace.org, on our Facebook page, Twitter (@wnypeace), and Instagram (@wnypeace)!
Peace, thanks, solidarity, and yes – love!!
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS
Find more details and additional special events on our Event Calendar at
May 1 @ 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm EDT
Know Your Rights’ Cookout
At MLK Park in Shelters 6, 7, and 8, at Best & Sweeney Sts, Buffalo. Open Buffalo’s Community Restoration Project is celebrating that, on the morning of March 31, 2021, through the continued efforts of Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, Senator Elizabeth Kruger, and hundreds of advocates for equitable justice, the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act was officially passed in New York State.
Come out and celebrate this major victory with free food, music, and a good time! Education on details of MRTA legislation for collective safety, and continuing to offer education on the Community Restoration Project will also be shared. Join us!! All are welcome!!
May 2 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am EDT
BanKillerDrones Campaign Launch (Webinar)
This event will launch of BanKillerDrones, a new campaign for an international treaty to ban weaponized drones and military and police drone surveillance. This comes at the moment when the Biden Administration is reportedly looking to increase U.S. drone killing and drone surveillance as key to retaining some level of colonial control in Afghanistan, under the guise of countering Al Qaeda, as U.S. troops are removed. The reality appears to be that U.S. drones, and other U.S. military aircraft, will continue to support U.S. special forces operating in Afghanistan. The registration page is here.
A New York Times article on April 15 indicates that drone killing will be even more at the center of global U.S. military policy, quoting U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin: “’There’s probably not a space on the globe that the United States and its allies can’t reach,’ Mr. Austin told reporters.” Civilians continue to be the primary casualties of drone war. Panelists are Kathy Kelly, Brian Terrell, David Swanson, Leah Bolger (bios on our website).
May 4 @ 8:00 pm EDT
Divest from the War Machine: Follow the $$$
On zoom. Tuesday Capitol Calling Party: Special guest co-hosts Danaka Katovich and Olivia Hamer of the CODEPINK Peace Collective. The Peace Collective is CODEPINK’s youth division, made up of people under the age of 30 who come together for anti-imperialist education in the form of book clubs and discussions. Featured Speakers also include Carley Towne and Stephen Semler.
May 5 @ 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT
Onondawaga Protectors Fundraiser
In person at 1299 West Ave (crner w/Bird), Buffalo. Spaghetti Meatballs, and Chinese Auction: $12/adult plate; $8/sr & kids. Includes spaghetti, salad, and desert. Noon to 6pm or sold out. Please call 716-816-5338 to place your order. Items for auction/donations include ribbon skirts (three of them, made by Lor Seneca), artwork, etc. The raffle will be at 6pm, followed by a social with singing and dancing for those who bought at the fundraiser only. Also at 4pm, Lee Jimerson will speak on our responsibilities and more; followed by Water Protectors sharing their experiences, and plans for MN
For the Chinese Auction, the Protectors challenge us to donate gently used/restored items from our own personal Hoard (that we all have) A priceless Cowhorn Rattle has been donated as well as artwork. Donations can be dropped on at 1299 West Ave, Buffalo (call Beanie at 716 816-5338 with any questions. Nyahweh )
We have been called to action to help protect the waters of the Mississippi against the Enbridge Pipeline, a/k/a Line 3. All proceeds go toward our travel expenses. Please practice all COVID-19 protocols, face masks, and physical distancing.
April 24 @ 9:30 am – 2:00 pm EDT
May 5 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm EDT
Cuba: Confronting COVID & the US Blockade (IFCO/P4P)
On zoom. Join LASC, ROCLA, and more for Pastors for Peace: End Sanctions on Cuba, NOW! Preregistration will be required to join the event. A link to more info and “register button” at: Cuba: Confronting COVID and the US Blockade After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
On Cuba’s successes in fighting COVID at home and abroad, and its progress in producing vaccines against the virus; and how to end our 60 year old economic war against the Cuban people.
With info on IFCO’s 31st Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba this coming fall, taking people and COVID related medical aid to the island; and on Cuban scholarships that train young people from humble backgrounds in the US as doctors who return home to medically under-served communities.
Our speakers are GAIL WALKER, Executive Director of Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization / Pastors for Peace, and DR SAMIRA ADDREY, Graduate of ELAM, the Latin American School of Medicine in Havana, Cuba and Coordinator of IFCO’s Medical School Project.
The event will also be simultaneously livestreamed on the WNY Peace Center Facebook page, and rebroadcast on WBNY 91.3FM on Monday, 5/10, at 1pm.
LASC is the Latin America Solidarity Committee, a taskforce of the Western New York Peace Center. Our sister group, ROCLA, is the Rochester Committee on Latin America. For now we have meetings together, by zoom, on the first Wednesdays of each month.
May 6 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT
Demythologizing the Work of Freedom
On Zoom. Demythologizing the Work of Freedom: Reimagining our Vision of Theological Praxis By: Danjuma G. Gibson, Ph.D. Organized by Niagara University’s Rose Bente Lee Ostapenko Center for Race, Equity, and Mission.
This talk invites participants to demythologize the lives and work of various 19th and 20th century freedom fighters and revolutionary thinkers such as Fannie Lou Hamer, Ida B. Wells, and Martin Luther King Jr. (to name a few). The insurrection on the nation’s capital in January 2021 disrupted the national illusion of racial progress and innocence. We are not who we thought we were. The quest for equity and freedom is threatened by a recent surge in white supremacist and white nationalist ideology. The Christian mandate to love our neighbor and seek justice is failing under the weight of self-interest and indifference.
May 6 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm EDT
Clean School Buses in the Buffalo NY Region
Webinar on zoom. Panel organized by New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund & Sierra Club (May is Asthma Awareness Month!) RSVP at bit.ly/2P28gmG
Event Speakers: Assemblymember Karen McMahon, NY Assembly District 146
Senator Sean M. Ryan, NY Senate District 60 Senator Timothy M. Kennedy, NY Senate District 63 Caroline Hahn, NYLCVEF; Ben Mandel, CALSTART; Jonathan Meyers M.A., Buffalo State College; Sara Schultz, Sierra Club; Dr. Sarah Ventre, Clinical Assistant Professor, SUNY Buffalo, UBMD Pediatrics
The State Department of Environmental Conservation is committed to allocating 40{18f4e0a41fddb2e88741536e88191ef0d4c56a815c6739466934f6385f4e0c26} of the Volkswagen settlement money towards cleaning up buses and President Biden has proposed a $20 billion federal investment for electric school buses. The time is now for communities like Buffalo that experience some of the highest asthma rates in the state to take the lead in transitioning to electric school buses.
Invitation to 30-minute Silent Meditation/Prayer Vigils (May 6, May 15, May 26 & June 4) to Stop Executions, Torture, Murders & Assassinations & Promote Peace in the World
– You are invited to attend an upcoming series of 30-minute silent meditation/prayer vigil sessions against human executions, torture, murders & assassinations—these sessions are aimed at bringing more peace to the community, to the nation, and to the whole world.
Schedule of Vigils:
Thursday, May 6 (1:00 p.m.): Vigil for National Day of Prayer ZOOM link:
Saturday, May 15 (10:00 a.m.): Vigil for International Day of Families (May 15) and for Mr. Quintin Phillippe Jones (scheduled to be executed in Texas on May 19) ZOOM link:
Wednesday, May 26 (7:00 p.m.): Vigil for International Day of Vesak (Buddha Day) ZOOM link:
Friday, June 4 (7:00 p.m.): Vigil for International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression ZOOM link:
For more information, contact: thundersnowstorm@yahoo.com
How the sessions will run:
7:00 p.m. (or at 1:00 or 10:00) — A few minutes before the silent vigil, please get comfortably seated, connect to Zoom, and mute your microphone.
OPENING: 7:05 p.m. When the bell rings, the silent vigil (25 minutes in length) will begin. It will be a silent meditation session or silent prayer session (your choice).
CLOSING: 7:30 p.m. Another bell will ring at the conclusion of the vigil, at which point some short reflective meditations will display for another 10 minutes.
ZOOM will automatically time out after 40 minutes.
UPCOMING REGULARLY SCHEDULED EVENTS
Find more details and additional weekly/monthly events on our website at
wnypeace.org/wp/regularly-scheduled-events
MONDAYS
1pm-3pm – Talking Peace (WNYPC radio show). On WBNY 91.3 FM or streaming online at wbny.buffalostate.edu. Insights on peace and justice with the WNYPC. At the moment, the show is being pre-recorded by Think Twice Radio at The Home of the Future!
TUESDAYS
1ST & 3rd Tues: 6:30pm Nekanehsakt: Friends of the Ekwehewe, an Indigenous support group, gathers to discuss and support needs and campaigns of the Indigenous communities, including protection of Mother Earth. On zoom here. Meeting ID: 862 5047 8013 Passcode: 269980
WEDNESDAYS
3pm – Weekly Vigil and March Against the Death Penalty. From the Robert L. Jackson Courthouse to the ECHC. Please bring your own signs.
4pm – Prisoners’ Rights weekly vigil: No More ECHC Deaths! at the Erie County Holding Center. Please bring your own signs. After yet another death at the ECHC, please come out to stand up for real change.
7:15 (approx.) – Talking Peace with the WNY Peace Center, livestreaming on Facebook (and subsequently broadcast on WBNY 91.3FM on Mondays 1-3pm). Two session each just under an hour.
THURSDAYS
5pm – Immigrant & Refugee Justice (IRJ) weekly vigil: End Ice Terror! Outside the Delaware North Building. Please bring your own signs.
FRIDAYS
2pm – Environmental Justice weekly vigil: No Nuclear Waste over the Peace Bridge! At Front Park. Signs on hand.
SATURDAYS
10am- Myanmar Community Weekly Vigil, At Bidwell & Elmwood.
12 pm – Women in Black weekly vigil. At Elmwood & Bidwell. Signs on hand.
SUNDAYS
10am- Myanmar Community Weekly Vigil, At Bidwell & Elmwood.
4pm- Riverside Salem Weekly Gathering. Various topics. Currently on Zoom at
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3639440486?pwd=Wnk2TVlQRWlZRXEyVW9zeklNaXNJZz09
Meeting ID: 363 944 0486; Passcode: 756084
CAMPAIGNS BY ISSUE AREA
Find more details and additional campaigns and fundraisers at
wnypeace.org/wp/current-campaign
wnypeace.org/wp/organizing-in-wny
Environmental Justice & Indigenous Rights
Re #StopLine3 (and associated)
– Call MN Governor Tim Walz at 651-201-3400 to urge him and other officials (e.g., Congressman Keith Ellison) to stop Line 3.
– Visit the Water Protectors website for information on needed donations and coming out to put your body on the line to protect Mother Earth, the waters, and the creation.
-Donations (physical items and/or monetary) also gratefully received at Burning Books (420 Connecticut St, Buffalo, 14213 – open daily, 11am – 7pm) or to Nekanehsakt’s PayPal. #DefendTheSacred #WaterIsLife
– SIGN THE PETITION HERE to get President Biden to #StopLine3.
– For more info and ways to help, go to: https://www.honorearth.org/stop_line_3
West Valley Nuclear Waste Clean-up
Join the West Valley Action Network and support the full cleanup of one of WNY’s most dangerous radioactive pollution problems. Help protect our drinking water, environmental, and community! Join in proactively protecting our region from the long-lasting, deadly nuclear and hazardous waste at the West Valley site. Please also contact all of your legislators – local, state, and federal – to urge full covered cleanup with extensive monitoring!
Foreign Policy
We need to #ReSealTheDeal with Iran. Please sign the petition to President Biden urging that he return the US to that commitment. Please join the twitter storm too, and/or call the President at 202-456-1111.
Please also urge Biden with every means at your disposal to work to #EndTheBlockade of Yemen. #YemenCantWait.
Immigrant and Refugee Justice
Justice for Erick Mejia. Sign on to the petition. Erick was a 26-year-old Honduran shot 28 times and killed by San Antonio police in Texas. The family is demanding that the city of San Antonio fire the police. Erick was undocumented and ran in fear after being stopped by traffic police. It is a travesty of justice that his family had to flee violence in their homeland only for their son to be shot down in cold blood in this country.
Please share and sign the petition: http://chng.it/MxK88Phv5K
Policing & Criminal Justice Reform
– Please sign the Buffalo Police Accountability Ballot Initiative if you are a resident of Buffalo. It will give the Buffalo Police Advisory Board some real power, “teeth” if you will, with subpoena power and more. Details are here.
-Free Mumia!
The frightening health crisis facing Mumia Abu-Jamal, internationally renowned political prisoner and writer is serious. Mumia, at 66, has had COVID-19, heart surgery and other medical emergencies in the picture, this Call is more urgent than ever.
Mumia, as you may recall, was very ill five years ago as a result of misdiagnosed and untreated Hepatitis C. He was very close to death at that point, and we are sad to report that his situation may indeed be even more precarious now. Despite decades of amazing international and US support, and Mumia’s own great inner strength, MUMIA’S LIFE IS IN IMMINENT DANGER.
We therefore ask that you sign the simple but powerful Religious Call for Mumia’s Immediate and Unconditional Release. Please reply to us at: FreeMumiaInterfaith@gmail.com
– Please support the WNYPC {Cariol Horne} Whistleblower Fund! Encourage police to intervene the way Cariol did to make sure police stop their colleagues from abusive acts or unnecessary use of force.
– Contact ECDA John Flynn’s office (by phone: 716-858-2424 and by web: https://www2.erie.gov/da/) urging him to:
- re-visit the Buffalo 5 case (indictment no. 41-413)! Three of the original Buffalo 5 remain living and are seeking a complete exoneration and clearing of their names. Please also see the change.org petition and GoFundMe.com campaign. Call especially if you can’t make it to render Court Support this Tuesday (see above).
- give Deyanna Davis more freedom while she’s in house arrest! Visit linktr.ee/deyannadavis for a petition, fundraiser, and more information.
– Please thank the Common Council members who voted in favor of ending the Speed Camera Program as recommended by the FFFC: Councilmen Wyatt (particularly, who proposed the resolution), Pridgen, Bollman, Nowakowski, Rivera, and Feroleto (contact info here). The press conference we were part of responding to the latter can be viewed here.
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WNY Peace Center Office Job Description
The WNY Peace Center seeks a highly organized person who is passionate about peace and social justice issues to help in the office working for our mission of “Peace Through Justice at Home and Abroad.”
The WNY Peace Center is a non profit, member driven organization founded in 1956. Our nine taskforces focus on particular issue areas and we stress the interconnectedness of our issues, Uniting the Struggles and Movement-Building. We provide many opportunities to learn about, reflect, and act constructively to address issues of concern to our membership. As a force for progressive change, the WNY Peace Center serves as an incubator for new ideas and the promotion of activism.
The Office Position is for approximately 10 hours/week at $15/hour.
Candidates should be detail oriented, have great verbal and written communication skills, computer skills (QuickBooks knowledge is a plus), and a cooperative spirit. Experience in the non-profit sector and/or community organizing is helpful.
Expectations:
Skills: Knowledge of Quickbooks, Word, Mac computer.
with Duties to include:
Answering phones, returning calls.
Data entry and maintenance, including bookkeeping (making deposits, check-writing, running reports) using Quickbooks and a Mac
Order and maintain office supplies and equipment, arrange bulk mailings
Design and layout of office publications and literature such as newsletter/weekly news as needed, annual dinner program book, annual reports and membership appeals/ renewals (either performing or arranging therefor)
Assist in keeping the office clean and organized, other office maintenance
Work closely with the Executive Director, as variously directed, possibly including: Communicating with the staff, board and members; Assist in media and publicity outreach, including press releases, media advisories and follow-up; Participate in designing, publicizing and implementing strategic campaigns; Assist in planning, publicizing and executing meetings, speakers, fundraisers, rallies and other events; Assist in fundraising through grant-writing, membership appeals and events; Conduct research on legislation, grants, social issues and potential services; Assist in outreach and work with other peace and justice organizations; Assisting as needed
Please send your resume and a cover letter to office@wnypeace.org by Wednesday, May 12th. Thanks!
#UNITEtheStruggles | #OneLove | #WeShallOvercome | #SiSePuede