Take responsibility for the face of the world. Notice the swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.
By Diane Lloyd
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.”
PJAMRS, 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 o
ther 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 p
ut 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.
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.
Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on your screen is there to harm you. Bookmark PropOrNot or other sites that investigate foreign propaganda pushes.
Click here for Opportunities to organize, protest, make your voice heard
There are now three First Thursday Coffee and Discussion groups meeting this Thursday March 1.
Possible discussion topics:
Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.
Safety Pin Box benefits all people involved, but is specifically geared at supporting Black women & femmes who are contributing to the movement for Black lives.
Every month, Safety Pin Box will give one-time financial gifts to individual Black women who have demonstrated a commitment to serving Black people. Financial gift recipients will be featured in that month’s box at their discretion, and will be invited to contribute to that month’s task writing. Any and all Black women contributing to Black liberation in any way are encouraged to apply and recipients will be chosen at random each month from Black women applicants in our pool. The more subscribers we have, the more Black women we can support. Subscription fees, as a form of reparations, go directly to supporting Black women freedom fighters every month.
Learn More Click https://www.safetypinbox.com/black-women-being/
There are now two First Thursday Coffee and Discussion groups:
Possible discussion topics:
Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. (Don’t use the internet before bed. Charge your gadgets away from your bedroom, and read.) What to read? Perhaps “The Power of the Powerless” by Václav Havel, 1984 by George Orwell, The Captive Mind by Czesław Milosz, The Rebel by Albert Camus, The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, or Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev.
