Resist Evictions Today!

A few weeks ago, we wrote about the important role housing justice plays in the racial justice movement. Since then, you’ve organized with your neighbors, taken action to fight the eviction moratorium, and made calls to demand that lawmakers #CancelRent. We’re energized by your collective action - and we need to keep it up.

Little has changed over the past few weeks when it comes to state action to prevent the impending housing crisis. This past Friday, the federal government let the supplemental $600 in unemployment benefits expire. Should there be no additional relief, over 40% of renter households across the nation will be at risk of eviction. In New York State, the three-bill package, desperately needed to address the rent, eviction, and homelessness crises, sits untouched by legislators. Last month, Governor Cuomo launched the NY Rental Relief program, which provides barely a shred of aid to those who need it most. Even more troubling is the fact that the eviction moratorium in New York is set to expire on Thursday. When this happens, housing courts will be flooded with new eviction cases for non-payment of rent. Hundreds of thousands of families -- disproportionately Black and Brown -- will be on track to lose their homes in the midst of the worst public health crisis in over a century. White people have long participated and benefited from the racist housing system, acting as cogs in the machine of displacement and violence against Black and Brown people. But the machine cannot continue to grind if the cogs refuse to turn.

Join the Housing Justice for All and Right to Counsel coalitions for a series of actions this week! Watch for updates here.

On Monday, August 10th we’ll be at the final event of the week, a BIG Shutdown the Courts action. Sign up to join a SURJ NYC housing-action team to act together on the 10th and beyond!

To learn more, join this Thursday’s SURJ NYC Chapter Meeting for an important and urgent discussion on Housing Justice. Read below for Chapter Meeting details, along with other upcoming events and ways to be involved this week. Be well, and we look forward to seeing you this Thursday!

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Showing up beyond the headlines

It's been just over two months since George Floyd’s murder sparked the beginning of the current uprising around racial justice. Many white folks across the country have been activated to engage in anti-racist work for the first time, while others have deepened their level of engagement or recommitted to the work with new energy. Wherever you stand, it is imperative that we continue to center the Black Lives Matter movement and the lives of Black and Brown folks — even as headlines change.

In recent weeks, the media has been dominated by reports of the frightening and unconstitutional response to the BLM protests in Portland. As we see people brutalized and arrested by unidentified military personnel in unmarked vehicles, much attention has been given to the Wall of Moms, leaf blower dads, and wall of veterans. While some of the actions of these groups provide a powerful model for ways white folks can show up for Black lives, it is vital that we de-center white narratives and bring focus back to the reason these protests are happening. Much of the public narrative has focused on the white wall of moms, but it is Black mothers who have always been on the front lines of the movement, struggling to protect their children and facing the pain of losing them to racist police violence.

While we may be frightened by the prospect of a fascist police-state, we must also recognize that people of color have long been living under such conditions. From the earliest origins of police forces emerging as slave patrols, to mass incarceration and the brutalization of Black people by police, to ICE raids and detentions throughout the country, to the aggressive military response at Standing Rock, Black and Brown communities have been continually targeted by the state. As we track the events in Portland and hear the administration’s threats toward other cities, we can’t get distracted.

The fight for racial justice is not new just because many white folks are new to it, but the movement has recently expanded in ways that hold the potential for transformative change. This is a good time to ask ourselves how we can stay engaged and build momentum for the long term. What can we do to evolve from performative activism to sustainable activism?

One way is to learn about the local, grassroots groups that need support on an ongoing basis — whether it’s SURJ NYC’s partners or other organizations in the community. Move resources, commit to giving monthly donations and building a consistent practice of redistributing wealth, while also cultivating a habit of de-centering the white experience from your anti-racist work.

Instead, look to uplift voices that have been historically silenced and follow the long-standing leadership of Black and Brown activists. And embrace that working to dismantle white supremacy is a life-long process. Whether SURJ turns out to be your long-term organizing home, or we just help you get what you need to do this work elsewhere, we’re glad you’re with us today, and we’re here to support you in moving into lifelong, multiracial action for racial justice.

Read on for more specific ways to show up in the coming weeks, and take good care.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate, but our systems do

Four months after NYC’s first case, COVID-19 is still in full force across the country and planet. The virus has illuminated racial disparities in healthcare and other systems that existed long before March. While New York State has flattened the curve, the impacts of structural racism continue to be felt.

With Black people dying from the virus at 2.5 times the rate of white people and the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) set to end this coming weekend, Black communities have been most directly affected by the pandemic.

In 2018, 22% Black Americans lived in poverty,compared to 9% of white Americans, and are less likely to be insured, resulting in inequity in access to quality healthcare. These circumstances create vulnerable communities and contribute to underlying medical conditions, all of which create further complications with COVID-19.

Further, even if healthcare is accessible, the medical system in this country has historically asserted race as a biological, not social, construct. This medical racism is perpetuated through differential treatment, racism in the field, and implicit bias. During COVID-19, it has been seen as doctors being less likely to refer their Black patients for testing and the disproportionate rate at which Black people are impacted.

The staggering difference in care and treatment of the virus can even be seen through the incomplete racial data that has been collected. As the CDC faces racism within its own ranks and the Trump Administration has mandated hospitals to send their data to a different federal database, many are concerned that the statistics may be manipulated to show more positive results.

Without accurate data, we do not have the information necessary to fully understand the impact of COVID-19 on the communities most at risk. The reopening has forced workers to return to jobs that are not only low-paying, but also put their lives—and those of their families—in danger. The end of FPUC will only exacerbate this harm.

While Democrats have pushed for another stimulus package that would extend the FPUC and ease the economic struggle of over 25 million workers, many leaders are still advocating for the economy to reopen. Senators from some of the states with the highest proportion of Black recipients have been the most vocal opponents of the FPUC, complaining that the benefit is too high and that it discourages people from going back to work. It is yet another attack on the health and livelihoods of Black, Brown, and low-income communities.

Reopening, cutting off much-needed aid, and racial bias in data collection and treatment of this virus continue to put these communities at extreme risk, leaving them further vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19.

It is our responsibility as white folks committed to anti-racist work to continue to support those who are most impacted at this time.

To take action today, use this tool from our partners at RAPP to call your legislators and urge them to pass five bills on the #RoadToJustice.

And as always, read on for ways you can plug in and show up this week.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Housing justice is racial justice

The COVID-19 crisis has disproportionately affected Black people and people of color not only in infection and death rates, but also in terms of financial stability and shelter. We’ve seen how the pandemic has exacerbated harm caused by racist systems across the board. As a result, half of Black tenant households in New York City have fallen behind on their rent as of late May and early June 2020. Evictions primarily target Latinx and Black tenants. Additionally, homelessness is shown to have a direct correlation to the spread of COVID-19. As of Sunday, 1,293 people experiencing homelessness have contracted COVID-19 and 100 have died, according to the Department of Homeless Services.

As white folks who have benefited from the history of racist housing, lending, and real estate policies in this city, our fight for racial justice must include work for housing justice.

And there’s a lot happening right now.

Some good news: the New York state universal eviction moratorium has been extended until August 6th. That's an important partial victory! There will be no evictions, for anyone, for any reason, across New York state until August 6th. While this is certainly a win, we cannot stop fighting. Despite the extension, the courts are allowing landlords to file new eviction cases — meaning that the courts will be flooded when the moratorium expires. Additionally, existing cases from pre-pandemic suits are resuming due to the courts' reopening on July 7th.

Despite the extension of the eviction moratorium, landlords are trying to evict tenants outside of the legal process. Last Tuesday, Equality for Flatbush put out an urgent call to head to 1214 Dean Street in Crown Heights to block an illegal lock-out of tenants by the landlord. Approximately 100 tenants, neighbors, and supporting activists converged at the building to support this action, chanting, “No landlords, no cops, all evictions have to stop.” Ultimately, the landlord vacated and tenants were able to return home.

However, we know there are likely to be more evictions coming this summer unless legislators take action to cancel rent.

Coalitions across the state, including our friends at Housing Justice for All (HJFA), have been organizing around the #CancelRent campaign, calling for Governor Cuomo and legislators in Albany to forgive all rent, mortgage, and utility payments accrued during COVID-19. We now have a bill, introduced by Manhattan Assembly member Yu-Line Niou and Brooklyn State Senator Julia Salazar: the Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act of 2020!

The fight to pass this bill and cancel rent is going to need all of us. So here are two ways you can take action to #CancelRent today:

And, as always, see below for more ways to plug in and show up.

In solidarity,

SURJ NYC

What's next?

As we work to build a future without police, we’ve focused our efforts and actions over the past few weeks around defunding the NYPD for #NYCBudgetJustice. But late last Tuesday, the City Council passed a budget for this fiscal year with nowhere near the demanded $1 billion cut from the NYPD. To learn more about the outcome of the budget vote, please read the full statements from our partners Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) and the Justice Committee:

  • CPR: The City Council failed New Yorkers today. Instead of shrinking policing, the Council moved cops from the NYPD to other agencies, refused to institute a hiring freeze on police and failed to take meaningful steps to shrink the NYPD’s massive, and abusive presence in our communities.

  • Justice Committee: Our communities have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic and the economic and police violence crises that have coincided with it, yet, in spite of this, the City administration has chosen to forsake our health, safety and well-being and continue the trend of treating the police as if they are above the law, even in the budget.

While De Blasio has touted the budget changes as defunding the NYPD by $1B, the changes do little more than shuffle money and power between agencies. Ultimately, this continues the oppression of primarily Black, brown, and low-income neighborhoods, and will only further the policing and incarceration of children and adults across the city.

Reflecting on the vote last week, it’s important to remember that the fight to defund the NYPD has been going on for a long time, led by Black and brown folks whose communities have been the most devastated by the city’s racial injustice. For those of us newer to the movement, it is vital that we continue to stay engaged for the long term.

Whether supporting urgent actions (such as #CancelRent to provide safe housing for all), calling in our family, friends, and neighbors, or continuing our own political education, there are many ways white people must take action to dismantle white supremacy. By listening to and learning from those who have been most directly impacted, we can grow and act in a way that’s both respectful and accountable.

The movement has built great power, and it’s important that we don’t lose momentum now.

If last week has left you wondering what’s next, check out the list below for ways to dial in, move resources, and join us in conversation and action.

In solidarity,

SURJ NYC

A Future Without Police and Prisons

We’ve fought for the demand: Cut at least $1 billion from the bloated NYPD budget and reinvest this money into programs and services that provide necessary resources to Black, brown, and low-income communities. As we wait to see how City Council votes on the budget today, it is important to remember that, no matter the outcome, the work does not stop here.

The call to defund the NYPD is one piece of the larger movement aimed at shifting the cultural framework from “crime and punishment” to “harm and repair.” In this new framework, we can create a world without police or prisons. And so we might ask, without the prison industrial complex (PIC), how can we actually address harm?

This question has bridged movements fighting state and interpersonal violence, and particularly violence toward women of color. Scholar and organizer Ruth Wilson Gilmore summarizes the revolutionary breadth of this work: “Abolition is a movement to end systemic violence, including the interpersonal vulnerabilities and displacements that keep the system going. In other words, the goal is to change how we interact with each other and the planet by putting people before profits, welfare before warfare, and life over death.”

From here we may wonder how we will make these changes. What will we transform?

Transformative justice, a political framework and approach for responding to violence, harm and abuse, emphasizes community accountability: non-state responses and interventions to address the conditions that give rise to violence within a particular community. This means not only fostering healing for survivors of violence and abuse, but also developing processes enabling accountability and transformation for those who cause harm. It is the work of cultivating strong and supportive interpersonal relationships and, ultimately, safety within community—countering violence with nurturance and support.

While learning from and engaging in practices developed by BIPOC organizers, queer and trans people, survivors of gender-based violence, people with disabilities, sex workers, and formerly incarcerated people, we as white people at the same time need to reckon with our own role in the prison industrial complex (PIC).

How have we internalized the narratives of punishment and carceral “justice”? How are we entangled in the interests of the prison industrial complex? And what actions are we taking to cut those ties and transform ourselves and our society?

Let’s continue to deepen our understanding of safety and accountability by listening, learning, and investigating together. We’ll be digging into this at our July chapter meeting this Thursday - we hope to see you there! See below for more about that, as well as other ways to plug in.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

From "Crime and Punishment" to "Harm and Repair"

At what age did we first see a TV detective slap handcuffs on a “perpetrator," enacting “justice” just before the nightly news? The culture of white supremacy weaves police propaganda into our daily lives so thoroughly that it becomes difficult to even imagine a world without some force ensuring that a punishment answers every crime.

If “crime” is made synonymous with “harm,” and punishment is the correct response to crime, we might believe that prisons, police, and the criminal legal system are capable of righting wrongs and keeping us safe. We can learn from the work of abolitionist writers and organizers, however, that this is a fantasy - and a dangerous one.

All humans do harm to each other. The kinds of harm that we each cause—and whether it is defined as a crime or not—depends on our circumstances. But labelling some of us as “criminals” dehumanizes individuals and, by association, entire communities. This dehumanization justifies violent policing and surveillance of poor Black and brown neighborhoods. Prisons deal in isolation and abandonment⁠; despite the premise of “rehabilitation,” a cage offers no space to nurture trauma, to process remorse, or to take accountability for causing harm. Further, a racist police state means that Black and brown folks are disproportionately likely to be locked up for charges that have nothing to do with causing harm in the first place. These carceral systems only serve to generate more harm and perpetuate trauma. Safety and healing can never be born from oppression and violence.

When we have been hurt, or when we have been responsible for hurt, how do we hope it will be addressed? Would punishment repair the harm? Would it address the circumstances that informed the harm? Would it ensure that the harm is not repeated? If you consciously reframe your conversations around repairing harm rather than punishing infractions, where might that change your interactions with friends, strangers, family members… and yourself? Pay attention to where there's the instinct to punish ourselves or each other and find opportunities to make space for repair instead.

When we aim to repair harm, rather than punish crime, everything changes.

Next week, in preparation for our July chapter meeting, we will discuss the work of abolitionist organizers, including frameworks for addressing harm without carceral models. In the meantime, we recommend reading adrienne maree brown’s brief and beautiful piece “we will not cancel us.”

And, as always, see below for more ways to show up. Take care.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Defund NYPD for #NYCBudgetJustice


Defund the police.

These words have powerfully entered mainstream American consciousness over the past couple of weeks. They’ve been spoken on TV, yelled at protests, and printed on signs and in headlines. The idea, which is not new, has also been getting backlash from people and institutions who argue that what we really mean is reform the police. We know reforming the police does not work because it has been tried over and over again.

As we grieve and demand justice for even more Black people murdered in recent days, including Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau, Dominique “Rem'mie” Fells, Riah Milton, and Rayshard Brooks, we follow the lead of organizers who are fighting to end police brutality as one manifestation of the violence of white supremacy.

We’re part of a movement that’s demanding that the NYPD budget be cut by at least $1 billion this year. We do mean defund the NYPD. We mean invest in communities instead.

We’ve been told the police serve and protect. But policing as an institution in the United States was not created to keep people safe. Policing in the South emerged from slave patrols, and throughout the country it was designed to protect private property, control the working class, and maintain white supremacy. (For more, see Alex S. Vitale’s book The End of Policing, which you can download for free here.)

So it should not be surprising that for as long as policing has existed in the United States, cops have harassed, brutalized, and outright killed Black people, brown people, Asian people, Indigenous people, LGBTQ folks, disabled people, poor people, and immigrants.

Even beyond the NYPD’s deeply violent response to protests over the past couple of weeks, their response throughout the pandemic has provided one more example of how the NYPD works: handing out masks to white people while violently attacking and arresting Black and brown New Yorkers for social distancing violations. Violence and disdain for Black lives should not be paid for and shielded by our tax dollars - especially when those tax dollars have been siphoned out of our social services that do serve and protect New Yorkers.

And yet, in the midst of this pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed an executive budget that slashes and eliminates funding for essential education, health, and social services across the board. What’s not cut is the NYPD’s bloated funding. New Yorkers depend on these services to be healthy and safe, and are critical to Black, brown, and low-income New Yorkers —the very same communities most harmed by the NYPD.

In response, our friends at Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) are demanding #NYCBudgetJustice, and that City Council Defund NYPD by at least $1 billion in fiscal year 2021, which begins July 1, 2020.

We’re closer than we’ve ever been to taking this crucial step towards budget justice: on Friday, New York City Council proposed to cut $1 billion from next year’s budget. This is a rock-bottom minimum. It comes in response to massive organizing by movement leaders, and it’s going to take continued pressure to make sure that City Council follows through. As CPR said in their statement:

“Our hundreds of coalition member groups… want to make clear that public safety requires a minimum in $1 billion in NYPD cuts that includes not only a hiring freeze and reduction of officers, but also a complete removal of police from schools and social services, including homeless outreach, mental health response, and youth programs and outreach… New Yorkers must continue to protest, march, and call their City Council Members and Mayor de Blasio to let them know that we won’t settle for less than $1 billion in NYPD cuts - and that these funds must be reinvested in real community health and safety in the neighborhoods devastated by both the pandemic and violent policing – our Black, Latinx and other communities of color. This is not a time to let up....”

Join us to take action for for #NYCBudgetJustice. The budget deadline is June 30, so the time is now.

Call, email, and tweet your City Council Member to lift up CPR’s demands. Click here for call scripts and more information. (Not sure who your Council Member is? Find out here.)

Finally, a reminder that organizing works: Last week organizers across New York celebrated passage of the Safer NY Act, a series of bills that boost police transparency and help increase accountability in New Yorkers’ encounters with police. CPR, Justice Committee, and families with loved ones killed by police in the past 30 years led the push for these laws, while making it clear they’re still fighting for justice for the murders. This legislative win is a victory for the organizers and families who had been fighting for this for years. We at SURJ NYC are grateful for each of you who made calls demanding the repeal of 50a.

Unprecedented public pressure matters.

Together, our next goal is to make sure that the NYPD budget is cut by at least $1 billion this year. Please join us in keeping the public pressure up, and moving our collective energy towards the budget!

And as always, see below for more ways to show up.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Why organize with white people?

If you’re new to SURJ, a huge welcome from all of us.

In the past week, so much has happened. We are in the middle of an uprising.

Today, the New York State Senate reviews the bill to Repeal 50a, the police secrecy act. Yesterday, they passed the Police-STAT Act. The Minneapolis City Council committed to disbanding their police department and creating a transformative model for cultivating safety in the city. In New York City alone, hundreds of thousands of people have marched for liberation. Right now we are all holding rage and grief for continued state-sanctioned violence targeting Black lives; we are also holding love and hope for every person joining in the movement.

This week has shown how powerful action is. But unless we also dismantle the white supremacy we carry with us and around us, no policy change will ensure justice.

One of the key reasons we organize with white people is that rooting out our internalized white supremacy is a lifelong project requiring difficult emotional work, but it can’t be the centerpiece of our anti-racist efforts. Learning must be in support of action, not a substitute for it. Nor can we expect multiracial organizing spaces to help us with discomfort, shame, or the other negative feelings associated with this effort—there is more important work to be done in those spaces.  

In SURJ, we can support each other in understanding and countering white supremacy in ourselves and in the world around us, while also showing up in multiracial spaces responsibly and sustainably.

The SURJ commitment to taking action in relationship with Black and POC-led organizations allows us to fight together for collective liberation, following and being held accountable to their movement leadership. Doing both kinds of work together—and calling more and more people to join us—is how we undermine large-scale white support for white supremacy and build real justice.

This model for organizing serves other purposes too. There are as many reasons to organize with white folks as there are white folks organizing together. Here are a few more from our members:

  • “For me, anti-racist action is also a spiritual path. In the process of our organizing, SURJ NYC is also a peer group where there is loving space for me to process the fear, shame, and despair which often come up when I try to put my anti-racist values into words and into practice.” - Tom

  • “I have 50 years of whiteness to understand and parse through. Cousins to collect. Family to work with to understand our privilege. My work is calling folks in so future generations don't repeat our mistakes. This is white people work for white people to do.” - Westlake

  • “New York State legislature is often divided by "Upstate vs. Downstate," which is just coded language for "white/rural vs. black/urban," and the passage of a law is often contingent on what people think of it "Upstate." As white people organizing alongside people of color to build the future we want to live in, we have a responsibility to move a critical mass of our fellow white people in order to build a multiracial majority with enough power to win electorally, legislatively, and beyond.” - Ryan

  • “My most useful skills are leadership skills. But as a white person, I feel clear that it’s not my place to lead in this movement. To dismantle white supremacist systems, we have to take the lead from the people who know what’s needed, and that’s the folks who most directly experience systemic, racist violence and harm. In SURJ, our partners tell us where white folks are most useful to them in order to win, and I use my skills to get as many white folks there as possible. That’s how my labor can have the biggest impact." -Grace

Whether SURJ turns out to be your long-term organizing home, or we just help you get what you need to do this work elsewhere, we’re glad you’re with us today, and we’re here to support you in moving into lifelong, multiracial action for racial justice. There’s a lot more to do.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Let this moment radicalize you

First of all, hello. If this is your first time here, welcome. This is a powerful moment to join the movement for racial justice. If you've been here for a long time, we’re glad to be in this with you, learning how to be actively anti-racist and fight for collective liberation.

It’s been a weekend of uprising throughout the country against the continued murders of Black people and police violence.

Again and again we have seen that police exist to protect the property, convenience, and comfort of white people at the expense of Black lives and livelihoods. This is not “safety.” It is white supremacy.

Each time a white woman like Amy Cooper puts on a performance of distress, each time a gentrifier calls in a noise complaint, and each time a white liberal critiques righteous rebellion because of property damage, they are flaunting and enforcing their white supremacy. White supremacy creates a system where white people can call on the state to disrupt their Black neighbors’ lives, even to the point of brutality and death, to avoid even a moment of discomfort or personal accountability.

White people have been raised to see the police as an all-purpose solution. This is an idea that has been increasingly reinforced in NYC with disastrous consequences. It is visible in the Mayor's proposed NYC budget, which responds to the pandemic by maintaining approximately $6 billion in NYPD funding while slashing $2 billion from social services, healthcare, and education. This is all while the NYPD has displayed ongoing brutality to New Yorkers during COVID-19 homeless sweeps and social distancing enforcement, roles that police officers are not trained for and should never have been assigned.

Now, as our city rises up in rage and mourning for Black folks including George Floyd, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Nina Pop, David McAtee, Eric Garner, Delrawn Small, Saheed Vassell, and centuries of white supremacy, the NYPD is escalating with extraordinary violence.

When the police have been increasingly empowered with military equipment, bloated budgets, and an absence of consequences for repeated brutality and murder; when they have been directed to target Black, brown, and low-income communities; and when white people have been encouraged to see their violence as the “correct” way of handling every public dispute or social concern, this violence is the unavoidable outcome.

Let this moment radicalize you.

Commit to learning, unlearning, and taking action with accountability.

Here are a few pieces of recommended reading (or listening!) around policing and how to show up responsibly to protest.

** If you download for free, consider donating the cost of the book to a bail fund. See below.

We invite you to join SURJ NYC's chapter meeting on Thursday, and commit to taking daily anti-racist action and joining the long-term movement to dismantle white supremacy, internally and systemically.

Read on for more information on that, as well as other ways to show up.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Bail Funds and Protest Support

While we’ve tried to keep this list up-to-date, several of the most prominent bail funds across the country are saying they’re received an influx of donations and urging folks to direct money elsewhere, and things are moving fast. So please do a little research to see if bail funds you’re supporting are still actively soliciting donations (most have Twitter accounts with up-to-date information), and prioritize bail funds coming from Black-led organizations.

We're going on strike (rent strike)

As we approach another month, we’re coming up on another day rent is due. And that’s rent that many New Yorkers are unable to pay.

The New York universal eviction moratorium is set to expire June 20th: the moratorium through August 20 is currently extended only to tenants who qualify for unemployment benefits or who are experiencing a “financial hardship” as a result of COVID-19.

Evictions at any moment are dangerous, and we know that housing is one of the most glaring racial justice issues in New York City. That's not new! But the #CancelRent strike is a critical moment to take personal action in mutual interest with our neighbors.

We’re got some short stories from two SURJ NYC members who have joined the rent strike:

Greg: “As May approached, my roommates and I spoke and decided to reach out to the other tenants in our small building in Bed-Stuy, who we did not know well. On a conference call, we started off simply: ‘How are you?’ We listened to people’s stories about declining income, job uncertainty and the monthly stress of rent. Someone said of the economic and employment crisis: ‘It’s not our fault, or particular to our building. Tens of millions of Americans cannot pay rent.'
Two days before the first of the month, we decided to form a small tenant association and join the strike: we did not pay in May, and we sent a certified letter to our management company demanding they cancel rent. They started calling all of us to scare and intimidate us, but we’ve learned not to answer any individual communication. If they want to communicate, they have to use the tenant association email: we’ve shifted the power dynamic and will not be bullied. We’re fighting in alignment with millions of New Yorkers facing eviction, homelessness and health crisis. We refuse to pay to uphold a system that puts landlords’ and investors’ profit ahead of people’s well being.

Jennifer: I have lived in El Barrio for 10 years. I’ve tried to organize in my building, but so many long-term tenants have been displaced, and now I have health reasons that prevent me from interacting much. But in mid-April I posted signs on my door and window saying I was gonna go on strike and to contact me if you want to. On Met Council calls I found other East Harlem tenants to connect with. The morning of May 1, I saw photos of a “CANCEL RENT” banner drop and felt not alone. I sent my check with ‘cancel rent’ written on it and an email CCing my council member, assembly member and state senator. And I got one other tenant in my building to agree he would go on strike in June. Landlords claim 25% of tenants did not pay in May. We need more to join us in June to pressure owners to pressure Cuomo and create an impossible to evict situation.

If you are personally still able to pay the rent, joining the strike is a powerful way to take meaningful action in solidarity with those who cannot. The more folks who go on strike, the more power we can build: this keeps all of us safer against retaliation, and also makes us all more likely to win. We need to come together to withdraw consent, withhold rent and assert our collective power to demand Cuomo #CancelRent and all utility bills, freeze increases and grant automatic lease renewals.  

We’re starting a SURJ NYC Rent Strike group to organize for housing justice, share resources, and support one another. We know June 1 is close, but there is still enough time to organize!  Sign up here! Whether you’re coming with “But HOW do I do this?” or “‘Ahh this is really scary!” - we’ve got you.

In addition to our own SURJ NYC Rent Strike group, we encourage all tenants to learn more about the rent strike by attending community Zoom calls of any of the Housing Justice for All coalition groups:

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Two actions for NYC budget justice

We’re going to keep it short this week: we’ve got a couple of concrete actions for you to take.

There’s a crucial fight going on over the New York City budget. City Council is conducting hearings before they pass the budget, so it’s time for us to weigh in. Right now, we have an unprecedented opportunity to shift the conversation around where and how the city invests in safety.

Mayor de Blasio’s proposed budget includes cuts to essential social services across the board, and outright cancellation of the summer youth employment program. What’s not cut, though, is the NYPD’s bloated funding. This is not just a crisis response but comes against a backdrop of consistently increased spending on policing under de Blasio—from $4.6 billion in 2014 to $5.6 billion in 2019—even as crime has dropped to historic lows. The services the Mayor wants to cut now are services New Yorkers depend on to be healthy and safe, and are especially critical to Black, brown, and low-income New Yorkers —the very same communities the NYPD criminalizes, abuses, and locks in cages while leaving alone white and higher-income New Yorkers. There is also a real danger that the budget as currently proposed will result in the police being more integrated into social services—which we know is especially dangerous for communities of color.

As Joo-Hyun Kang, director of Communities United for Police Reform, said, “Budgets are moral documents, so now is the time to step back and assess what our priorities should be.”

We must take action this week to refuse the city’s prioritization of violent, racist policing over crucial public services. Please join us in taking these two actions:

  1. This Thursday, the NYC City Council will hold the only hearing including a chance to testify on the Mayor’s Executive Budget. Please submit an online testimony! You have 72 hours after the hearing finishes to submit. And tune in at 9:30am on Thursday to watch the hearing; testimony begins at 11:30am. We’ll be watching together on Zoom, so please come join us to yell and tweet together! Amplify the testimonies on social media using #NYCBudgetJustice.

  2. Call and email your City Council member for #NYCBudgetJustice! Some City Council members have already suggested a willingness to cut the budget for police and jails, so we need to call them to see how serious they are and push them to hold the line. Use the call script here and report back here. We also need people to call other SURJ NYC members and ask them to call their Council members.

And, as always, read on for more ways to plug in and show up. Take good care of yourselves.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Policing and the violence of white supremacy

It’s been a hard week. The news has been filled with images of attacks on Black lives, from violent NYPD incidents and arrests to murder.

On a national level, we’ve seen the country stand and grieve with the family of Ahmaud Arbery. We also want to say the names of Nina Pop, a Black trans woman who was murdered in her home in Missouri; and Breonna Taylor, a Black woman and EMT who was shot and killed in her bed by the Louisville Metro Police Department in Kentucky.

In New York City, the Brooklyn DA’s office released stats on social-distancing enforcement: of the 40 people who were arrested for social-distancing violations from March 17 through May 4, 35 were Black, four were Latinx, and one was white. We’ve seen video after video of NYPD officers attacking and violently arresting people of color throughout the city, while they hand out masks to white people.

These actions are connected.

We are heartbroken, and we are furious. And yes, we are sometimes overwhelmed with feelings of helplessness and shame. But we cannot let those feelings allow us to look away or disengage. As SURJ National Director Erin Heaney writes, “At SURJ, we know that systems of white supremacy and other oppression rely on keeping white people and communities silent or actively opposed to movements for racial justice. We know our work is to break silence and organize more of our people into movements for racial justice and against white supremacy.”

Let this moment activate you.

The work of dismantling white supremacy needs to happen on both internal and systemic levels. Symbolic actions are not enough.

For some self-reflection, we encourage you to read “The Empathy Crisis of White America.” The piece asks us to consider why and how the national media pays attention to the murders it does:
“... it’s crucial for us to interrogate why it often takes video evidence of such senseless brutality in order for us to believe the victims’ families, or feel sympathy for their deaths. Are our feelings only activated when we ourselves can bear witness to brutality—when we can, from the safety of our own homes and the comfort of our white skin, replay these horrific tragedies on a loop?”This week, we’ve seen this in the different ways the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Nina Pop, and Breonna Taylor have been covered by national media - and, maybe, our own social media.

On a city-wide policy level, the Mayor’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes continued overinvestment in policing -- but significant cuts to social services, including public housing and education. Prioritizing policing over people is dangerous at any time, but especially in response to this pandemic. Read on for action you can take from home to advocate for a fair and equitable budget (under Calls to Make, below!).

Finally, read and review these alternatives to calling the police, made by Equality for Flatbush, and check out Justice Committee’s guide for how to CopWatch during COVID-19. There is a lot about the NYPD that we cannot control, so it is essential that we align our actions with our values in the ways we can.

Take good care, friends.


In solidarity,

SURJ NYC

We won't go back to normal

This week, several states across the country are beginning to reopen. Even in New York, where we’re still on PAUSE, people are beginning to settle into routines and talk about getting “back to normal.”

We think back to normal is impossible. And it’s also not what we want.

Normal has been living under white supremacy and racial capitalism. In New York City, normal has been a system where poverty, homelessness, criminalization, and now death all fall disproportionately on Black, Latinx, Asian and Indigenous New Yorkers because of structural attacks and exclusions.

You may have heard people talking about Arundhati Roy’s powerful piece “The Pandemic is a Portal” (and if you haven’t, have a read!). As we consider where this portal could take us, we also encourage you to read “No return to normal: For a post-pandemic liberation” by Max Haiven. The piece visions possible futures: one that digs into increased corporate greed, authoritarianism, and hyper-capitalism; and one grounded in mutual aid, solidarity, and re-learned cooperation and communal care.

At SURJ, we’re committed to fighting for the collective liberation of the latter. And in order to do that, white folks are going to need to refuse a “new normal” that remains rooted in a white supremacist status quo. We cannot shrug our shoulders and say well, that’s just how it is. We can’t stay complacent, or look away.

Just last week, Gotham Gazette reported that the City’s proposed budget for next year includes huge cuts to public housing, education, and delays the plan to close Rikers Island. While the Mayor has said these cuts are sad but necessary, we don’t agree: this public health crisis has shown how necessary it is to adequately resource communities.

We’ve got some concrete actions you can take to fight for a transformative future:

  • Come to our May chapter meeting this Thursday to continue this conversation! Read on for more information.  

  • Today is #GivingTuesday, and that’s a great reason to support our partners and movement leaders who are organizing hard to build a more just and liberated future. Several organizations have match offers that are active today only! See below and follow us on social media for links.

Take good care of yourselves, friends.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

2019 Year-End Event Highlights

Police Accountability Working Group

In 2019, the Police Accountability Working Group threw down to fight for justice for the family of Eric Garner, doing trial support, fundraising, and direct action to escalate pressure to #FirePantaleo and all the other officers involved in the murder and coverup. We also showed up to support the families of Delrawn Small, Saheed Vassell, Mohamed Bah, and more people killed by NYPD.

Another focus was to move money toward two orgs leading this work, CPR and Justice Committee. We supported over 5 fundraisers between the two orgs, including holding down all lunch costs during the Pantaleo trial and throwing our own house party fundraiser for JC.

We supported ongoing legislative work in Albany to #Repeal50a and pass the #SaferNY package of bills.

Finally, our little PAWG community grew and thrived this year with a solid base of committed organizers sharing in political education, personal development, and ongoing work.

Anti-Mass Incarceration Working Group

The Anti-Mass Incarceration working group spent much of 2019 mobilizing SURJ members to attend lobby days in Albany and make calls to Governor Cuomo and state legislators in support of our partners JLUSA's FREEnewyork campaign and RAPP's parole justice initiatives. We shared political education on pretrial laws and the parole board in our meetings, and held workshops in our communities to base build and mobilize people around the campaigns.

We also engaged in conversation to discuss what our role should be in response to NYC's borough-based jail construction plan and the #CLOSErikers campaign, while still attempting to mobilize turnout when requested to various hearings, rallies, and lobby days over the course of the multi-month ULURP process.

We held a fundraiser for RAPP at the end of the summer that recruited new monthly donors, and continue to volunteer in support of their base building efforts by flyering at events, phone banking at their office, providing data entry for research projects, and more.

Deep Canvassing

The Deep Canvassing crew began 2019 creating a script on police accountability and using it to hold conversations with folks in white, wealthy neighborhoods. In the fall, we took a deep look into our group and decided to try a new project—moving people to action within SURJ NYC. Now a Phonebanking group, we’re calling up folks who are on the verge of getting involved, starting conversations about our relationships to anti-racist activism, and inviting these folks to the next SURJ NYC events.

And more!

Alongside these working groups, SURJers organized in neighborhood working groups, ran calling-in workshops, and collaborated with SURJ National. All the while our Coordinating Committee, Communications, and Basebuilding teams worked to keep SURJ NYC organized, strategic, and welcoming.

November 2019 Event Highlights

Wednesday, November 6: RAPP Coalition Meeting 

SURJ members joined Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) for their monthly coalition meeting. Every month RAPP organizers and members catch attendees up on their work, as well as upcoming events that you can attend or support. Oftentimes attendees break up into small groups where people who live in the same borough can brainstorm ways to organize together and immediate steps they can take in the coming month. Whether new to RAPP or already familiar with their work, all were welcome to the meeting! 

Thursday, November 7: Chapter Meeting with Special Guests from SURJ National 

SURJ NYC celebratd 10 years of Showing Up for Racial Justice! We welcomed SURJ Director Erin Heaney and Southern Organizing Director Evelyn Lynn, who helped us dig into our ideas about the US South, do some political education on the Southern Strategy, and spoke with our chapter about SURJ's new national 2020 strategy–including grassroots organizing to challenge white supremacy in elected office. Dinner was provided and there was an orientation for new members from 6:30-7:00pm.

Thursday, November 14: Fundraiser for Justice Committee 7pm

The Justice Committee (JC) supports and organize families who have lost loved ones to the police, empower low-income New Yorkers of color to hold the police accountable, and build safe, healthy communities without relying on law enforcement. SURJ’s Police Accountability Working Group hosted a fundraiser for JC to specifically help them with their goal of increasing their number of monthly donors by the end of the year. Monthly donors play an invaluable role in sustaining JC’s work to fight police violence and systemic racism in New York City. Consider becoming a monthly sustaining donor to Justice Committee here.

Sunday, November 24: Prison Industrial Complex Abolition 101 

SURJ members joined the New York City chapter of Critical Resistance to discuss what Prison Industrial Complex abolition means, the relationship between the carceral state, racial capitalism, and PIC abolition, and how an abolitionist vision and framework is essential to organizing. 

Sunday, November 24: Immigrant Rights Ally Training

Cosecha NYC and Close the Camps NYC held an ally training to reflect on what it means to practice allyship in the immigrant rights movement, the history of the immigrant rights movement and where we are today, and how to get more involved in immigrant rights organizing as an ally.

October 2019 Event Highlights

Thursday, October 3: SURJ NYC Monthly Chapter Meeting: The 1619 Project 

At this month's chapter meeting, we did some political education and dug into (parts of) The 1619 Project: "The 1619 Project is a major initiative from The New York Times observing the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history, understanding 1619 as our true founding, and placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are." You can read the project here. 

Wednesday, October 9: American Indian Community House Meeting / Strategy Session 

SURJ members joined the Friends of AICH meeting / strategy session, while AICH still has space on the Lower East Side. Info was shared on upcoming events, political directions & ways to get involved. This meeting was welcome to all who want to support AICH & build community as/with local indigenous folks. 

Additionally, please consider donating to the Manna-hatta Fund which is an ongoing source of financial support for the American Indian Community House, NYC’s Indigenous hub. For 50 years, AICH has been a space of Indigenous sovereignty, culture, community, activism, arts, and wellness services. This is an opportunity for us to directly support Indigenous Peoples. All funds go directly to AICH.

Sunday, October 13 and Monday, October 14: 5th Annual Indigenous People's Day Celebration and Columbus Day protest on Randall’s Island.

SURJ members attended the protest, described as: “FREE and open to all, the two-day event dedicated to Indigenous cultural preservation, spiritual resistance and the celebration of over 527 years of survival since Columbus made landfall, serves as a supportive space for those looking to stand in solidarity, learn and find belonging.” 

Wednesday, October 16: Rally to repeal 50-a

On Thursday, Oct 17th, the Senate had a hearing regarding the law known as 50-a, which covers up NYPD misconduct. SURJ members showed up for a rally the day before to demand a full repeal. 50-a is a law that the de Blasio administration has interpreted very conservatively, claiming that the public doesn’t have the right to know when cops break the rules. SURJ members mobilized to fight for this crucial change to police transparency. 

Friday, October 18: Justice State of Mind, 90s Hip Hop Party to benefit Justice Committee

SURJ members joined our partners at Justice Committee (JC) for a night of great music, food, dancing, and company. Funds from this event helped JC support and organize families who have lost loved ones to the police, empower low-income New Yorkers of color to hold the police accountable, and build safe, healthy communities without relying on law enforcement. 

Sunday, October 20: SURJ Upper Manhattan Community Potluck w/ RAPP 

For this gathering, we were joined by members of the RAPP (Release Aging People in Prison) Campaign, who shared with us their work around parole justice and ending life imprisonment. RAPP is one of SURJ NYC's Accountability Partners, and members of SURJ NYC have been in relationship with them since the beginning of the campaign several years ago. Folks learned about their work, and the various ways SURJ members can be supporting it with our time, labor, and/or money! 

Tuesday, October 22: National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality

Folks stepped out for the 24th National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation! This coalition has been mobilizing every year since 1996 for a National Day of Protest on October 22nd to expose the epidemic of police brutality. There was a rally at 3:00pm at Union Square, and a march to Times Square at 5:00pm. 

September 2019 Event Highlights

Saturday, September 7: Equality for Flatbush Gala  

Equality for Flatbush (E4F) is a visionary, member-led grassroots organization that does anti-police repression, affordable housing, and anti-gentrification organizing Brooklyn-wide. Since 2013, E4F has effectively organized hundreds of tenants, small businesses, homeowners, and those impacted by police violence to stop evictions, win repairs, save small businesses, and build people power through trainings and community-led campaigns. SURJ members joined E4F on the dancefloor to raise $50K for Equality for Flatbush and celebrate with Imani Henry - founder and lead organizer - as he turns 50 this year! If you cannot attend, you can support E4F’s work by   making a donation here, or making a monthly sustaining donation here

Sunday, September 8: Deep Canvassing for Police Accountability 

When does a “hero cop” become a villain? We canvassed to ask folks about the Eric Garner case, more broadly and deeply exploring what accountability means to us, and how that connects to the politics of policing. Deep canvassing means sharing vulnerably about our own stake in the issue, and listening curiously to the people we meet. Conversations tend to be long, in-depth, and responsive to what arises--not just angling toward an “ask.” Because of that, they have the potential to transform both our targets and ourselves. And when we encounter folks who are aligned with us, we support them in taking action. As always no prior knowledge was needed, we learned and practiced together! 

Saturday, September 14: #NoBusinessWithICE: CLOSE THE CAMPS! 

SURJ members joined Close The Camps NYC in a march and a direct action targeting a company that profits from ICE’s abuse of immigrant lives. As part of a broader campaign to say NO to the concentration camps on the US border, #ClosetheCampsNYC has the following  demands of private companies: “Stop being complicit in the horrific violence against immigrant communities. Cancel all contracts with ICE and withdraw all support that allows the violent institution to continue to carry out its bloody mission.” 

Wednesday, September 18: Ending Life Imprisonment Panel   

The panel discussion featured Marc Mauer and Ashley Nellis, authors of “The Meaning of Life: The Case for Abolishing Life Sentences;” Jose Saldana of RAPP, and Saleem Holbrook of Pennsylvania’s Campaign Against Death by Incarceration (CADBI) and the Abolitionist Law Center. Both Jose Saldana and Saleem Holbrook are formerly incarcerated long-termers working to end life imprisonment.

Saturday, September 21: RAPP Fundraiser 

Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) works to end mass incarceration and promote racial justice by getting elderly and infirm people out of prison. RAPP challenges a fundamental pillar of mass incarceration: reliance on a system of permanent punishment, a culture of retribution and revenge rather than rehabilitation and healing. SURJ planned a fundraiser for RAPP so they can pay directly impacted organizers throughout New York state. If you weren’t able to attend, please consider supporting RAPP’s work here.

Monday, September 23: United in Outrage: The Resistance March

Donald Trump wasin NYC to address the UN General Assembly on September 24. The evening before, SURJ members joined our friends at Rise and Resist to come together and march peacefully to protest the many injustices of the administration, its accomplices, its supporters, and the harm done in its name. Folks brought signs and banners proclaiming their fight, their issues, and the change they are working toward. Read more here 

Wednesday, September 25: SURJ National Webinar: 10 Years of Racial Justice

SURJ National held a webinar with Patrisse Cullors, Makani Themba, Carla Wallace, and Pam McMichael to discuss the past, present, and future of SURJ as it relates to the broader movement for racial, economic, social, and environmental justice. Pam McMichael and Carla Wallace are long time movement organizers and co-founders of SURJ. Patrisse Cullors and Makani Themba are revered movement leaders who shared their perspectives of how SURJ's work fits in a broader context and what is needed moving forward. This was a public call, open to all.

August 2019: SURJ NYC Unendorses the #CLOSErikers Campaign

SURJ NYC is committed to mobilizing white New Yorkers to decarcerate our city by closing Rikers Island and shrinking the population of our jails and prisons. 

Over the last several years, we have done this work alongside our accountability partner JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA), supporting their #CLOSErikers campaign. Following Mayor DeBlasio’s commitment to close Rikers Island, there has been disagreement among various players in NYC about the Mayor’s plan to replace part of Rikers' capacity with one new and three expanded borough-based jails. In response, several campaigns have developed distinct demands and strategies. Most significantly, the #CLOSErikers campaign is advocating for approval and improvement of the Mayor's plan with what they believe to be transformative conditions, while the #NoNewJails (NNJ) campaign demands the closure of Rikers without building any new jails under any circumstances. 

Over the past few months, some of SURJ NYC’s individual members have been strongly supporting NNJ, some have been organizing powerfully with JLUSA, and we have been struggling together to come to an agreement about a collective way forward for SURJ NYC. Members have been particularly concerned about the seeming contradiction of organizing against white supremacy while supporting new or expanded jails, the urgent need to improve the conditions faced by currently incarcerated people, and the fear that Rikers may not close if the Mayor’s plan is rejected. There is also concern that the logic behind the Mayor's plan, implying that Rikers can only close if other jails are built or expanded, creates a false binary and normalizes incarceration. We have also put much thought into what it means to be a responsible partner to organizations we work with—many of whom have taken differing stances in this moment. In the resources linked below, you can read more about the nature of our members’ perspectives, the substance of the disagreements, and the conversations we’ve had at chapter meetings about this issue. While these discussions have happened with a great deal of respect, they have not moved those aligned with either campaign to a shared understanding of how SURJ NYC should move forward with regard to the Mayor’s plan.  

Because of the deep, substantive division within SURJ NYC about how to mobilize the power we’ve built in this crucial moment, SURJ NYC has decided to formally unendorse the #CLOSErikers campaign. SURJ NYC is currently endorsing neither campaign. 

While we cannot responsibly continue to endorse the #CLOSErikers campaign when so much of our membership opposes its strategy, we are unified in our commitment to working in partnership with JLUSA. We are proud of the work that we’ve done to stand in solidarity with JLUSA members, and of the relationships and trust that we’ve built with their organizers. We will continue to commit to that relationship, and to use our structures to support JLUSA’s #FREEnewyork and #2MillionVoices campaigns.

We will also continue to move our members into meaningful work and action to decarcerate our city.

We will provide political education that supports our membership to understand the ways that our carceral system is rooted in, and perpetuates, white supremacy. We will share resources on abolitionist theory and practice, making space for differing perspectives, and centering the perspectives of directly impacted people. And we will equip our members to take immediate and meaningful action by sharing calls to action, events, and information from both the #NoNewJails and #CLOSErikers campaigns, ensuring that members are aware of every opportunity to support this work. 

To learn about political education and campaign events, make sure you subscribe to our eblast, and follow us on Facebook or Twitter. To learn more about abolition and this issue, start with some of the resources below.

 

On Abolition

On the Campaigns

From #CLOSERikers supporters:

From NNJ supporters:

June/July 2019 Event Highlights

Wednesday, June 5th: RAPP (Release Aging People in Prison) Monthly Coalition Meeting

On June 5th at 6pm RAPP hosted their monthly coalition meeting by phone. On the call, they discussed updates, actions and next steps for all of RAPP’s initiatives (Elder Parole, Fair and Timely Parole and fully staffing the Parole Board) as the end of the state legislative session on June 19th was approaching.

Thursday, June 20: World Refugee Day Rally and March

We joined the African Communities Together (ACT) and the City of Refuge Coalition for their third annual World Refugee Day Action. Hundreds of New Yorkers from dozens of refugee, immigrant, religious, and community organizations staged a march from the New York Public Library and rally in front of Trump World Tower and the United Nations. Read more about the action and RSVP on Facebook. 

Tuesday, June 25: Project Reach Art Show Fundraiser

One Art Space hosted an exhibit that raised funds for Project Reach as rent continues to rise in Chinatown.

Thursday, July 11: SURJ NYC Chapter Meeting

While SURJ NYC is clear about the necessity and urgency of closing Rikers Island, there has been debate both among SURJ’s membership and groups we are in relationship with–especially the CLOSErikers and NoNewJails campaigns–about the best way to reach that goal. At July’s chapter meeting, we discussed various proposals around potential next steps. If you’re unfamiliar with the matter, we recommend watching the Manhattan hearings on the Borough-Based Jail Plan to learn more. You can watch Part One here, and Part Two here through Gale Brewer’s Facebook page. 

Thursday, July 18, 6:00-8:00pm and Saturday, July 20, 12:00pm-2:00pm: Nonviolent Direct Action Training

Our friends at Cosecha and coalition partners planned a direct action on August 10 in NYC to say NO to the concentration camps on the US border. There was a series of non-violent direct action trainings leading up to the action.