Neighborly actions to wrap up the week/dates to save
Act on Act on Climate, limit sexual coercion by police, Shut the Scrap, help houseless neighbors get their stimulus checks, and more.
Hi, everyone. Happy…spring? Today is a great day to start doing some of these things with and for our neighbors.
TODAY, 3/24 BY 4pm (to sign up) and 3/25, 4pm (to testify): RI Senate Bill 249 prohibits cops from “having sex with” people they have arrested or detained. Sign up TODAY to tell the Senate why we need this bill and how disgusting it is that we do, at the bottom of this agenda. (You may want to run your eye down the rest of the agenda as well, to see if there are any other bills you want to weigh in on.)
TODAY, 3/24, if possible: Act on Climate, some decent climate legislation, has now been passed by the RI House and Senate after some truly bananas testimony from opponents. Now Governor McKee needs to sign it. Send him a little note today (or later in the week) telling him that you wish him to do so, and including a simple reason why. I recommend not overthinking this one—the point is that all the people who made things up, or inflated things, to oppose the bill because they…think suffering and extinction are great for some reason?…will ALSO be calling him, emailing, him, etc. so let’s outnumber them. You could tweet at him too, @GovDanMcKee, or call his office at (401) 222-2080.
TOMORROW, 3/25, 4:15-5:15pm, 434 Allens Ave, Providence: The exploding submarine (why do I live in a world where I have to type those words) at RI Recycled Metals was an unusually dramatic instance of the long history of industrial pollution on the Southside, where it’s making yet another generation of our neighbors sick. Stand with them to call for the closing of this scrapyard. Wear your mask, of course! If you can’t go, there’s a petition you can sign.
Anytime this week, remotely: Please join Black and Pink PVD in calling or emailing RI Representative Bob Craven and asking him to pass Mario’s Bill (House Bill 5144), which makes juveniles who were sentenced as adults and given lengthy sentences eligible for a parole hearing after serving 15 years of their sentence. Here’s a guide to doing this, which includes contact information for Rep. Craven and a simple, clear script.
Anytime this week, in your neighborhood: Many people who are houseless or frequently displaced may be eligible for their government stimulus but not know how to get hold of it. You can help them do so by printing the image below and using a staple gun or packing tape to plaster the neighborhood where you live or work! Bonus if you can translate it into one of the other languages spoken in your neighborhood or city (please let me know if you do this and I’ll share)!
With love,
Kate
