Action in Spokane

How Do I Get Involved?

Have You Joined The Movement? Many Have! Find Your Place! 

In Solidarity with Charlottesville VA

Indivisible groups,  Democracy for America, Working Families Party, Resist Here, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Mi Familia Vota, OurRevolution, Million Hoodies Movement for Justice, People’s Action, Courage Campaign, Greenpeace, #AllOfUs, #Resist, 350.org, OFA, United We Dream, Win Without War, Voto Latino, MoveOn.org, Sierra Club, Pantsuit Nation, Town Hall Project, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, iAmerica, National Immigration Law Center, #MarchForTruth, Color of Change, UltraViolet, IfNotNow, People Power, Faith in Public Life, CREDO, Center for American Progress Action Fund, Bend the Arc Jewish Action, Brand New Congress, South Asian Americans Leading Together, NARAL Pro-Choice America, RootsAction, SEIU, Hip Hop Caucus, CODEPINK, Peoples Climate Movement, T’ruah, Public Citizen, Daily Kos, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, CPD Action, Stand Up America, American Federation of Teachers, Emerge America, Jewish Voice for Peace, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Moms Rising, RISE Stronger, Democracy Spring, FIRM, Demos, Sunrise Movement, Spread The Vote, Stand.earth, Our Climate, People For the American Way, Food & Water Watch, NextGen America, Fast Food Justice, Action Together Network, Jews United for Justice, New Leaders Council, Run for Something, Corporate Accountability International, Moms Demand Action, Beyond the Choir.

These organizations and others will come together in solidarity with our brave friends in Charlottesville who put themselves at risk to fight against white supremacy.

SPOKANE LOCAL ACTION OPPORTUNITIES

Check out the list below to find where your participation can begin. It is a starting point and specific information may become dated. Find out what else is happening. Let us know!

4 Communication and Culture  4comculture.com

  • This site is being built by African Americans and their advocates for the purpose of showing the contributions by and participation of African Americans and other affected classes and cultures to the community fabric.
  • The site seeks to bring a progressive perspective and activist strategies to meet the challenges in our communities.
  • The site seeks to be the connecting communications link where we, the African American community, bring information, news and culture to share with each other and the broader community.
  • Having limited time and resources, our first priorities shall be Black, progressive, activist, informative, cultural, serving, ecological and entrepreneurial.

Subscribe to blog to receive email notification of posts  4comculture.com

First Thursday Coffee and Discussion Groups

We have all been to many rallies and meetings at the end of which no one knows what they can do.  If you participate in demonstrations, rallies and social media and you do not know any members of the affected classes you are concerned about, you need to go to your local coffee house and have a discussion with five to ten individuals. Be sure to invite someone from the affected classes.  Begin building the community you want to live in. 

There are now three First Thursday Coffee and Discussion groups where we discuss current issues, culture and diversity.

  1. First Thursday Original Group 10:00 am Rocket Market 726 E 43rd
  2. First Thursday FORZA Coffee  10:00 am Lincoln Heights Shopping Center 29th & Regal
  3. Community Catalyst monthly 10:00 am private homes email Susan Hales susanhales2015@gmail.com

Let us know when and where the group you have started will be meeting and we will help spread the word on what you will be doing.   Go to 4comculture.com and enter your contact info and info about your meeting in the Contact Form at the bottom of the post.

PJALS Peace and Justice Action League  

The Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane engages everyday people to build a just and nonviolent world.  Everyday people are together advancing peace, economic justice, and human rights, through campaigns grounded in the intersections of these values. We are:

  • Engaging youth, cultivating youth leadership and long-term involvement.
  • Nurturing strong relationships & active partnerships with communities of color, LGBT+ communities, faith communities, and other progressive bases.
  • Sharing our messages, setting the frame of debates, and engaging everyday people.
  • Delivering high-quality work through robust volunteer involvement and leadership, appropriate staffing, strong organizational systems, and a funding base that’s expanding, stable, and sufficient.

Community Building

http://community-building.org/

“Our mission is to host, inspire, and catalyze social change in the Spokane region.”

Community Building Calendar: Lists and describes events by month. Click on “List Event” to post an event for your group. You can also add your feed.

Fuse Washington

http://fusewashington.org/   “Join the network”  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuseWashington/

  • Fuse is the state’s largest progressive organization – people creating change online, on the ground, and on issues that matter.
  • Fuse is bringing Washington residents together to support progressive causes and leaders.  We help the people who want common-sense solutions to our state’s problems work together to achieve their goals.
  • Fuse helps you make a difference by making your voice heard on the most important issues when the decisions are being made. Real people generating stronger progressive leadership from elected officials — that is the power of Fuse.

Resist          Website: http://resist.org/

Resist is a foundation that supports people’s movements for justice and liberation. We redistribute resources back to frontline communities at the forefront of change while amplifying their stories of building a better world. 

Resist Spokane   https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/Resist-Spokane/

Concerned about where the country is heading? You’re not alone. Join others who care about what’s happening to democracy, equality, human rights, social justice, sustainability, and other important topics. It’s ok if you’ve never been to a protest, march, or town hall — start here. You really can make a difference.

Spokane Indivisible   https://www.facebook.com/SpokaneIndivisible/

We are a newly formed group whose purpose is to RESIST TRUMP’S AGENDA by working LOCALLY in eastern Washington. We are following the guidelines as described in the INDIVISIBLE GUIDE document written by former congressional staffers. Our goal is to PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY, which is under threat, by encouraging activism including calls and letters to our members of congress, presence at town meetings, visits to our representative’s office, and participation at local and regional activist events.   Indivisible Guide https://www.indivisibleguide.com/ 

SURJ:  Showing Up for Racial Justice

Website: http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/ Sign Up, Join on Facebook, Twitter

Spokane SURJ   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/641872362665793/

SURJ is a national network of groups and individuals organizing White people for racial justice. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves White people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability. We work to connect people across the country while supporting and collaborating with local and national racial justice organizing efforts. SURJ provides a space to build relationships, skills and political analysis to act for change.

Spokane NAACP

https://naacpspokane.org/

The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.

We envision a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race.

We are a referral organization.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spokane.naacp/

Address: 25 W. Main Ave., Ste 239 Spokane, WA 99201 spokanenaacp@gmail.com

WRITE PLAY SING

P-Jammers Band  Contact: Greg Youmans at (509) 638-7554

PJAMERS, the Peace and Justice Activist Musical Rascals of Spokane or P-Jammers Community Marching Band, was founded by Greg Youmans in response to the need for a musical accompaniment for marches and protests and other events where people are making themselves heard. Greg had been in Seattle’s Anti-Fascist Marching Band and participated with them in the Battle in Seattle – the enormous 1999 Anti-WTO protests. After moving to Spokane and becoming active in protests here he discovered the Peace and Justice Action League. Recruiting other musicians through the PJALS newsletter he and Bill Lockwood put together a band that made their debut at a September 2005 peace march. In addition they perform at events such as Earth Day and First Night.

So what is P-Jammers all about? They are part of a community street band movement whose bands play not for the people but “among the people and invite them to join the fun. They are active, activist, and deeply engaged in their communities, at times alongside unions and grassroots groups in outright political protest, or in some form of community-building activity…” says the website for Honkfest (honkfest.org), an annual festival of activist bands held first in Boston then Seattle and Austin and now in many other cities.  Drawing from sources as diverse as Klezmer, Afrobeat, and Hip Hop they are “outrageous and inclusive, brass and brash, percussive and persuasive — reclaiming public space with a sound that is in your face and out of this world.”

Ready to join the fun and action? A diverse group of amateurs and professionals, young and old, P-Jammers welcomes anyone who wants to share in their musical exuberance. Practices are organized in preparation for specific events. Contact Greg Youmans at (509) 638-7554.

Love & Outrage https://www.facebook.com/groups/571886952958998/

Our hope is to continue to publish quarterly and to host ongoing salon readings with this growing collective of poets and artists. If you have questions, please contact us at loveandoutrage@gmail.com.

An example of what they do: The spring theme of Love & Outrage is “resistance” and we want your poems, prose, and art! Submit your prose, poetry, artwork, and other lovingly outrageous artforms to the next Love & Outrage Zine, which will be published/launched on 4/20/17 as part of this year’s GetLit!’s roster of events. (If the launch date doesn’t inspire you to participate, we don’t know what will.) This quarterly’s theme: RESISTANCE. Deadline April 1, 2017, (no fooling). Submit to loveandoutrage@gmail.com Resistance is futile…you must submit. Workshop TBA on 3/19/17 to polish your ideas.

Writers Resist Spokane  https://www.facebook.com/writersresistspokane/

Writers Resist national is in the process of becoming #WriteOurDemocracy. Go to their URL http://www.writersresist.org/ to sign up for their mailing list with your email address. You don’t have to be a writer.  There is a role for READERS RESIST.

Raging Grannies of Spokane  Contact: Mary Nabor peacenik_49@msn.com

https://www.facebook.com/Raging-Grannies-Spokane-192913904152052/

The Raging Grannies recently performed at the PJALS Action Conference. They welcome new members. The group gets together to work on songs and rehearse as occasions to perform or sing at action events arise.

From the webpage: Begun in 2005.  In the tradition of wise women elders everywhere, we rage against war and injustice! Raging Grannies began in Victoria BC 10 yrs ago.

August 2016 the Raging Grannies of Spokane protested oil trains:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoltPkuHJiw

From the Wikipedia article on the history of the Raging Grannies:  The Raging Grannies (or just “Raging Grannies”) are activist organizations in many cities and towns in Canada, the United States, and in other countries. They are social justice activists, all women old enough to be grandmothers, who dress up in clothes that mock stereotypes of older women, and sing songs at protests. They typically write the lyrics themselves, putting their political messages to the tunes of well known songs. Their activism includes peace and environmental causes.

Love & Outrage Radical Choir

https://www.facebook.com/groups/571886952958998/

Contact Taylor Weech: taylor.weech@gmail.com.

The Love & Outrage Radical Choir is a recently formed group associated with Love & Outrage, a collective of poets, artists and activists.

The choir recently performed at the Peace and Justice Action League’s Action Conference and the International Women’s Day Event “Be Bold For Change” March 4. Their repertoire includes songs such as:

The Community Choir  

Contact: Melanie Luedders melbalue@msn.com

ON HIATUS UNTIL SAFE TO SING

Meets Thursdays from 7-8:30 pm at the Community Building, 35 W Main Ave, through the school year. Drop in and join us.

The accapella Community Choir of Spokane began after September 11, 2001 when director Melanie Luedders gathered together a group of friends to seek solace in song.  You do not have to be an accomplished singer to join.  We welcome you to come and experience the joy of singing together. We learn songs from cultures around the world in many languages, sharing the laughter and joy of a song well sung. We enjoy sharing our music with others.  Performing at the Spokane Folk Festival has become a tradition and we spend the fall preparing for that performance.  We have sung at retirement and nursing homes, hospitals, the Perry Street Market and at peace and environmental events.  We recently sang together as we walked at the Women’s March in January.

An updated version with additional information is available in PDF format for printing:   Local Action Alerts Update