BUFFALO 5; CARIOL’S DAY OF ACTION; MARCH FOR…JUSTICE

Please join us on Friday at noon for the “Move for Justice” Rally, which will assemble in front of the Erie County Court Building (25 Delaware Ave) and then move to Niagara Square. Meet the Buffalo 5 – John Walker, Jr., Darryl Boyd, Floyd Martin, Darren Gibson, and Tyrone Woodruff – and show community support to get their indictment, No. 41-413 revisited by the Erie County District Attorney’s office. For more details, visit the event page on our website.

Later on Friday, join us at Lafayette Square from 3-5pm for the #CariolsLaw National Day of Action calling for an end to police violence and justice for our shero (and Board member) Cariol Horne. The march will assemble at Lafayette Square and then move to Niagara Square for a protest concert featuring Drea d’Nur at 4pm. #PassCariolsLaw #GrantCariolsPension #JusticeForCariol

On Sunday we will be at Amherst State Park (400 Mill St.) from 1-3pm where we will demand educational and economic racial inequalities be acknowledged in the suburbs and greater Buffalo area. All are welcome! Please note there is a parking lot off of Sheridan behind the Sisters of St. Francis building. Cohosted by @716protests and the WNY Peace Center.

The fight for racial justice continues at Niagara Square. Our own Racial Justice Taskforce continues to work independently and is also connecting with those at the Square and elsewhere. There is still daily activity at Niagara/Liberation Square thanks to the WNY Liberation Collective. Thank you also to everyone for your support of Deyanna Davis who was released this morning on bail.

A final reminder that our 13th annual youth summer camp, Camp Peaceprints, begins on Monday! Registration is still open with a sliding scale of up to $25/week, with scholarships readily available! Camp will be 100% online this year due to the public health crisis, but we offer games, recreation/physical activities, art projects, music, and virtual field trips to MACHU PICCHU (Peru) and KENYA; plus wonderful guest presenters (activists and artists from the Buffalo area, including Derek Middlebrooks of Nerds United, Poet Jillian Hanesworth, and Valentino Dixon)! Please register ASAP as we’ll be delivering packets with art supplies, etc. for use during camp.

We are, of course, still accepting *MATCHED* donations to the Father Joe Bissonette Fund for the WNY Peace Center. For more information and to contribute, please visit the fundraiser page on our website. We cannot do this work with you and are so grateful for your support!

Lastly, we are excited to share the IFCO/Pastors for Peace recording from the amazing event on Cuba’s response to COVID-19 for those of you who were unable to join us on the 29th.

Please see details and much more below, including other special events this week, regularly scheduled events, campaigns, fundraisers, and more at wnypeace.org, on our Facebook page, Twitter (@wnypeace), and Instagram (@wnypeace)! We update our Event Calendar often as we learn of new events, so please be sure to check back regularly!

And another reminder to pace yourselves – no one can do it all. Please feel free to reach out and let us know what kind of help you might need from the WNYPC.

Bissonette Matched Fundraiser for WNYPC; Racial Justice; Camp Peaceprints

In our continued effort to limit digital overload through these intense times, we are again highlighting just a few important items and special upcoming events, and then refer you to our website for details on our regularly scheduled events and ‘Helping Hands’ resource list (including updated campaigns and fundraisers!).

We are excited to announce the Fr. Joe Bissonette Fund for the Western New York Peace Center to sustain our ongoing work and prepare for even stronger social justice activism coming out of quarantine! In these challenging times, we know that this work is more important than ever. The WNY Peace Center struggles to discern and do its part and can only continue with your help. See our letter below our event listing for full details about this matched fundraiser!

Our 13th annual youth summer camp, Camp Peaceprints, is now less than ten days away! Registration is still open with a sliding scale of up to $25/week, with scholarships readily available! Camp will be 100% online this year due to the public health crisis, but we offer games, recreation/physical activities, art projects, and music; plus wonderful guest presenters (activists and artists from the Buffalo area); and field trips to Machu Pichu, Peru and Nairobi, Kenya! Please register ASAP as we’ll be delivering packets with art supplies, etc. for use during camp.

Of course we also want stress racial justice issues – this mountain of work is not done! The stories of Quentin Suttles, Deyanna Davis, Miles Carter, Cariol Horne, and so many others each give very important insight to the lack of racial justice and police accountability in Buffalo. Daily activities continue at Niagara/Liberation Square at 4pm. Additionally, our own Racial Justice taskforce will be meeting more frequently, including planned alternating meetings likely at the Square (maybe Wednesday evening?), Zoom meetings, and Speakouts for Ethical Police Officers. Please keep an eye on our Event Calendar for updates.

Lastly, we want to mention that our radio show, Talking Peace with the WNY Peace Center, is on indefinite hiatus due to administrative and COVID-19-related issues. We should have our most recent shows on our website before long. In the meantime, please check out the whole of yesterday’s Democracy Now! Daily Show featuring Dr. Cornel West, Angela Davis, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, with a special reading of Frederick Douglass’ historic speech “What to the Slave is the 4th of July?” by James Earl Jones.

Please see details and much more below, including other special events this week, regularly scheduled events, campaigns, fundraisers, and more at wnypeace.org, on our Facebook page, Twitter (@wnypeace), and Instagram (@wnypeace)! We update our Event Calendar often as we learn of new events, so please be sure to check back regularly!

*** And lastly, a reminder to pace yourselves – no one can do it all. Let us know what kind of help you might need from the WNYPC; please feel free to reach out!

JUNETEENTH –> LIBERATION NOW!; Sat Gen Assembly; Cariol’s Law; #Unite

So much has happened and is happening, that it’s hard to know where to start – except with a deep breath of love and courage!

We again express extreme grief and concern about the longstanding injustices that have been made more obvious over the past years, months, and days. This includes most recently the cruel (and unfortunately not “unusual”) punishment of Deyanna Davis. Please see her fundraiser here; and plenty more on the need for and ways to work for her compassionate release at https://linktr.ee/deyannadavis – and a great video by Akram Shibly; Deyanna’s not a flight risk; is a truly hurting young mother and student; and the Erie County Holding Center, well, it holds a world of maltreatment including homicide by medical neglect #ReleaseInmates.

There has been a great trauma to our community, and we need to find the ground of our dwelling – the roots that help us to continue on with our struggle. We have no choice but to, so we need to pace ourselves for this marathon (that includes self-care during COVID and this Census year).

This is a transformative time, with growing clarity regarding racial injustice, police brutality, and the militarization of police. Buffalo’s being in the national eye has finally led to the appropriate attention for Cariol Horne, someone we are proud to have as a member of our board. See Cariol on CNN speaking about her experience as a BPO intervening in a chokehold situation over a decade ago. You can find more information about Cariol and her latest work on Cariol’s Law (and keep an eye out for a call to action on Monday). Lastly, there is her Whistleblower fundraiser – please share widely and contribute if you are able. #GeorgeFloydNeededCariolHorne

Big shout out to the many devoted young (and not so young) activists gathering every day at Niagara Square since Monday, June 1, in determination that this time, platitudes and incremental change will not be enough. A Change is Gonna Come – NOW!!

Tomorrow, 6/20, join a General Assembly in Niagara Square at 1pm. Demands to be made to the authorities will be discussed; and groups and organizations (including but not limited to the WNYPC) will be there to talk about their work and visions. It will be an opportunity to meet lots more activists engaged in the struggle (including some of our board members and staff). We hope you can join in this critical time – we are all in this together.

Special shout-out too to Black Love Resists in the Rust (BLRR)’s establishment of Liberation Square. We thank BLRR for occupying the Square to push for Deyanna’s compassionate release (see above), and all their leadership. Yes, the struggle is everywhere!!

We want to highlight a few upcoming events, including

Next Thursday, 6/25 at 6pm on Zoom we are hosting a Know Your Rights webinar featuring Daire Brian Irwin, Esq. and John A. Curry III, NYCLU; as well as
Monday, 6/22 we have a great radio show featuring Myles Carter and Rev. Denise Waldon speaking on E-District events of 6/1 (including Deyanna Davis’ compassionate release efforts) and racial justice issues; Brooke Binkowski and Professor Mike Niman speaking on disinformation and propaganda. 1-3 pm on 91.3 FM or wbny.buffalostate.edu
Another session (same workshop) of the Know Your Rights will be in person (with physical distancing) at Niagara/Liberation Square, Sunday June 28 at 1pm.
Zoom session with experts on Cuba’s wonderful medical aid to the world (June 29, see below).
our youth (virtual) summer camp – Camp Peaceprints – which is less than one month away! More details and to register here.

We hope you were able to participate in last week’s Juneteenth of Buffalo virtual festivities. We look forward to when we are able to all able to celebrate in person again. In the meantime, we’ll take time to reflect on the significance of this day in American history, and continue our work in the fight against racial injustice and violence. You can still check out their videos here (great info and inspiration).

Lastly, we have had many people reach out inquiring about lawn signs as a way to express their solidarity. We have many #UNITE lawn signs – designed by our own Office Manager & Coordinator, Deidra – left from last fall’s Annual Dinner. (We do also have some #LoveIsLove signs left.) These are WNYPC Membership gifts, so after joining please email office@wnypeace.org to set up a pickup time.