In this blog:
- Election Protection volunteers needed
- Nonviolence and Religions: Sources and Practice — Success and Failure, Thursday, Sept. 24
- Stronger Together to Stop Line 3, Tuesday, Sept. 29
- Training for non-violent direct action to stop Line 3, Oct. 4-5
- Urge the MN Public Utilities Commission to prioritize benefits to BIPOC communities
Election Protection volunteers needed
The Washington D.C.-based group Protect the Vote is asking for nonpartisan volunteers from across the country to help protect voters from intimidation and other forms of voter suppression.
You can learn more by clicking here.
Different roles you could take include:
- Monitoring polling places (from your vehicle, or with proper personal safety equipment)
- Watchdogging social media for disinformation
- Reaching out to voters to make sure they know their rights.
- Connect voters with trained legal professionals who can help them navigate the voting process and cast their ballots safely and securely.
According to a recent email from Protect the Vote:
If you sign up, you’ll be part of voters’ first line of defense against restrictive election laws, coronavirus-related voting disruptions, or anything else that could silence their voices.
The team in the Protect the Vote coalition will help you find the best way to help that makes sense for you, and you’ll get trained on everything you need to know to make a real difference in this election.
Nonviolence and Religions: Sources and Practice — Success and Failure
The Minnesota Multifaith Network is hosting an online discussion to explore nonviolence theory and practice from different religious and spiritual perspectives. The event will by Thursday, Sept. 24, from 4:40-6:00 p.m. Speakers from eight different religious traditions will address the topic. Registration for the conference is free but required here.
The speakers are:
- Baha’i: Roya Akavan
- Buddhist: Bussho Lahn
- Christian: Grant Abbott, John Matthews
- Hindu: Sandra Kimal
- Jain: Ram Gada
- Jewish: Holly Brod Farber
- Muslim: Tamim Saidi
- Sikh: Randeep “Ricky” Singh Arora
It’s part of a virtual 10 Days Free from Violence Conference, sponsored by Twin Cities Nonviolent. See a detailed program schedule here.
Stronger Together to Stop Line 3, Sept. 29
MN350 is hosting an online event Thursday, Sept. 29, at 6:30 p.m. featuring organizers and leaders from across the state giving perspectives on the fight against Enbridge’s proposed Line 3, with an emphasis on treaty rights and an update on a Line 3 water quality certificate currently pending before the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
For more details, see the Facebook Event Page. Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy also is a co-host.
Those participating in the online event will leave with a better understanding of this moment, this movement, and how we are all treaty people, whether Native or non-Native. Presenters will talk about how we can all step up together to make sure Line 3 is never built.
Training for non-violent direct action to stop Line 3, Oct. 4-5
Northfield Against Line 3 is hosting online trainings Oct. 4-5 to help people build skills in non-violent direct action to stop Enbridge Line 3, should it get all of its needed permits and construction begins.
If you want to attend, register here.
This training will be broken into two sessions. The first part from 2 – 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4, and the second part from 6 – 8 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 5. These sessions will introduce Line 3, non-violent direct action, and organizing in affinity groups, as well as broader tactics and strategy.
Urge the MN Public Utilities Commission to prioritize benefits to BIPOC communities
One more pitch from our friends at MN350: This past May, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) asked Minnesota’s investor-owned utilities to propose clean-energy projects they could accelerate to help the state rebound from the COVID-19 economic downturn.
We know that already marginalized communities have been hit hardest by the pandemic. That’s why MN350 has joined a coalition urging the PUC to ensure those projects particularly benefit frontline communities hit first and worst by the pandemic.
Xcel Energy has already proposed projects totalling $3 billion. That would be one of the largest investments in state history. Our coalition of 21 prominent climate justice and community groups recognized a clear opportunity to use a significant portion of that money to further the urgent work of correcting systemic racism and supporting black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC).
To sign onto a letter to the PUC showing how much Minnesotans care about racial equality, click here.
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