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Educating and mobiliizing for peace, human dignity, and social, racial and economic justice.
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Linda Hamilton
Co-Chair
Michael Williams
Co-chair
Remie Calalang
Treasurer
Juliane Collaço
Member at large
Cimmeron Gillespie
Member at large Elda Galvan Member at large Michael Sámano Member at large
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Want to fight for social justice from behind the scenes? The CALC office needs your help! From taking photos at CALC events to thanking donors to tidying up the office, your volunteer help could make a world of difference. Fill out and send in a volunteer form, or contact Russell Melia at calcoffice@gmail.com for more information!
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Greetings!
History was made at the federal level as the Development, Relief, And Education for Alien Minors Act--The DREAM Act--passed in the  House of Representatives, but it missed passing the Senate by five miserable votes. It would have not only represented a significant step toward comprehensive immigration reform, it would have given hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth across the nation access to education and hope for a brighter future.
Although disappointed, immigrant rights activists and their supporters have not been deterred. Here in the state of Oregon, Amigos, CAUSA, CALC, many faith based organizations, businesses, government officials and community allies have come together to focus on passing at least two major pieces of legislation this year. One the Tuition Equity Bill, which would give undocumented youth and community members equal access to education, and the other would restore Oregon driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants. Both pieces of legislation are receiving significant support.
From the Governor's office to local city, county, and school officials, to business leaders, faith based organizations to community groups and individuals, support for the human rights of immigrants is growing and being heard! We will keep you posted.
Si se puede!
Jorge Navarro
Co-Director, Programs and Development
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B2B: Stopping Islamophobia
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Islamophobe Barry Sommers attempted to sneak his bigoted "What is Islam?" classes into Lane Community College's non-credit personal enrichment schedule. Someone at LCC was paying attention. Mr. Sommers' biased views on Islam were easily confirmed by a quick review of his personal blog promoting, amongst other things, a constitutional ban on the practice of Islam. The result was the cancellation of his classes by LCC. However, this story is not done. Mr. Sommers managed to book his act at Harris Hall in downtown Eugene. Back to Back, in collaboration with the Anti-Hate Task Force, has been monitoring Mr. Sommers' classes. We have noted that anti-Semetic members of the Pacifica Forum, as well as members of a local Tea Party group, have been attending these so-called classes. We must break the silence! There will be a peaceful vigil challenging the bigoted views of Mr. Sommers' classes, so please stay tuned. We will be sending out a Back to Back Action Alert with more detailed information on when, where and why. If you have already signed the Back to Back pledge and are on our Action Alert notifications system...you know what to do. If you have not made the pledge, do it now! |
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TIR: End Selective Service!
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 The overall goal of Truth In
Recruiting is to decrease the militarization of youth. Much of our work reaches students in all Lane County high schools with accurate information which military recruiters leave out. Offering Peace Scholarships to 9 seniors promotes the notion that peace is possible. Inviting individuals and organizations based all over the county to help fund these also expands the conversation about non-military approaches to problems.
Wouldn't it be helpful if Selective Service ended? It would save money. It is no longer relevant, as no expects a return of a draft. Its existence is a hazard to many young males who don't register, such as undocumented immigrant males struggling to balance the fear of "reporting" themselves to the government vs potential danger of making themselves ineligible for a path to citizenship if they don't register--or such as males who don't register and thereby make themselves ineligible for federal jobs, training or education grants. This seems like a good idea, a bit of a step toward decreasing the militarization of youth.
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PR: Act Like An Egyptian!
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 The Egyptian people's successful non-violent action for freedom serves as an inspiration not only for people in the Middle East but forpeople in America as well. Like the Egyptians, we need to take our country back, back from those who choose to fund war and not programs that put people and the planet first.
The U.S. Congress has appropriated over one trillion dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. The cost to Eugene taxpayers, for example, has been huge: $106.9 million for the Afghanistan war and $219.8 million to wage war in Iraq (http://nationalpriorities.org/). Wouldn't it be great if we had the money to fund our cash-starved schools and put people back to work here in Lane County?
Martin Luther King Jr. understood the need to reorder our priorities so that the pursuit of peace and justice takes precedence over the pursuit of war. April 4, CALC will be reading the entire Beyond Vietnam speech where he made this point so strongly. In the weeks and months ahead we plan to organize additional events and actions that highlight the costs of war and that pressure our Oregon Congressional delegation and other elected officials to take action to fund human needs and not endless war.
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SAfER's MLK Jr. Day March and Event: A Photo Essay
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Cesar Chavez Birthday Event
Thursday, March 31st, 6-7 PM
Agnes Stewart Middle School, 900 South 32nd Street, Springfield
Come join local students and community members to celebrate Cesar Chavez and his legacy of labor rights and social justice. A Time to Break Silence Speech Monday, April 4, 7-9 pm First Christian Church Sanctuary, 1166 Oak St, Eugene CALC will be presenting a dramatic reading Martin Luther King, Jr's.A Time to Break Silence speech to remember Dr. King and to lift up his anti-war, pro-social justice message. More information to come! |
Programs of CALC are funded in part by grants from the RESIST, Spirit Mountain Community Fund, Meyer Memorial Fund, McKenzie River Gathering Foundation, Equity Foundation, and the RW Family Fund of the Oregon Community Fund.Thanks also to the many coalition members and volunteers who have helped make the Egan Warming Center a success for the second year in a row! Thanks also to the volunteers and participants in the Martin Luther King Jr. event. And welcome to our two new board members, Elda Galvan and Michael Sámano! Member at large
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