RJI Shows Up for Housing Justice at Statehouse Lobby Day |
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RJI members took another trip to the Statehouse on a slightly rainy Thursday morning, April 11, to press legislators to support a range of budget line items and pieces of legislation that would:
- Address the woeful state of public housing by significant additional funding
- Provide access for housing for returning citizens
- Allow for more funding for affordable housing and homeownership through the inclusion of the Real Estate Transfer Fee
- Provide returning citizens an State Identification Card upon their release
- and continue to give full support for the MBTA Communities Act to address the Massachusetts severe housing shortage.
Why these particular specific targets? Because RJI as a member of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization has visited public housing in Boston and Brookline and spoken with the tenants. We have heard how the lack of upkeep has caused harmful physical accidents and the mold, ailments. We heard how rats and mice are nightly visitors and rusted out bathtubs, unusable. Our members through their work with PARTAKERS have mentored prisoners in the state’s prisons and stood with them upon their release. We have seen them struggle to find their footing without an ID finding it impossible to open a bank account, obtain a driver’s license and obtain a job. And we have seen first hand how difficult it is for them to find any place at all to call home. We have walked with the homeless at the annual Winter Walk and heard their stories. We know that a growing number of families are put on the streets because they simply cannot afford rent on their minimum wage salaries. In short, we have paid attention to Bryan Stevenson’s wise counsel “that to change the world, we are each going to have to find ways to get closer to people who are living on the margins of society.” Thank you RJI activists for showing up! Thanks for writing emails and letters! Thanks for sticking with the campaign throughout.
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If you’d like to be a part of our GBIO Core team, please email Sheri Kassirer at OR Bud Schram — GBIO Liaisons. There is still time for you to write, call or email your state legislators to encourage them to support the Governor’s Housing Bond Bill and the GBIO budget request. Write an email or letter OR call your legislator to support!
LEFT TO RIGHT: Sheri Kassirer, Susan Sidel, Karen Silken, Ediss Gandelman, Bud Schram, Renee Silva, Sauci Savitz, and Geoff Sherwood
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Considering Our Next Civil Rights Trip? |
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Join us for our Information Session • Tuesday, May 28 about the Racial Justice Initiative’s exploration of the Civil Rights Movement, and particularly the Jewish community’s responses (then and now). It continues with a journey to Atlanta, Montgomery, Birmingham and Selma. Our November 7-10, 2024 trip includes visits to the Rosa Parks Museum, Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum and Lynching Memorial, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and The King Center among other highlights. We will attend Shabbat services at Montgomery’s Temple Beth Or, and Sunday morning services at MLK’s Ebenezer Baptist Church.
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Tuesday, May 28, 2024
7:00 - 8:00pm
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Every Vote Every Vote: Voter Freedom Campaign Returns! |
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Help strengthen our democracy by encouraging and protecting voter participation. TBE is once again joining with the URJ’s Religious Action Center (“the RAC”) to partner with the Center for Common Ground’s non-partisan “Reclaim Our Vote” campaign. We will be contacting under-represented voters in states with a history of voter suppression and intimidation to encourage them to vote and provide needed information. We begin by writing postcards to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) voters in Virginia, in advance of their June Congressional primary elections. Click here for information and to sign up for your postcard writing packet. Email Nicole Roos with questions.
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RJI Quarterly June 6th features Oscar nominated film The Barber of Little Rock and its TBE Producer, Ian Cohen
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Our RJI year ends with a special screening of The Barber of Little Rock, an Oscar-nominated documentary, produced by our own TBE congregant, Ian Cohen. Join us to hear from Ian, who will share his experience in creating this remarkable film and the celebration of the film’s nomination for an Oscar! After viewing the film, barber Arlo Washington (the Barber) will join Ian (by zoom) and Segun Idowu, Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion for the City of Boston (live) in discussing strategies to foster equitable economic opportunities. The evening closes with a celebration of Ian and Arlo’s remarkable night at the Oscars. Don’t miss this exceptional meeting.
Thursday, June 6, 2024
7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
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