Hello everyone,
This Saturday, we celebrated Mr. Gary Grant at the Dawson Resiliency Hub. Dr. Chris Lamont Brown spoke of the state of things and the need to revisit the lessons of the past- the history of environmental justice in NC. They recounted the work of Mr. Grant, specifically his work on one of the most progressive EJ policies in NC – The Halifax County Livestock Ordinance. Would you like to learn more? Just ask us.
As you read this newsletter, there is news of a horrific massacre against Palestinians in Gaza. More than 400 Palestinians have been killed and more than 440 injured – by US-funded Israeli airstrikes, in the besieged, starved, destroyed Gaza strip. After two weeks of no supplies to 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, after hunger had spread again, Israel unleashed its bombs once again. The genocide continues.
As you make your calls to Congress to oppose the further gutting of environmental protection regulations in the US, please make a call asking for a halt to US-funding and supporting of genocide. How much carnage is enough? How many more shredded children’s bodies? How many killed Palestinians are enough to satisfy the US-supported Israeli war machine?
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: RESISTANCE RISING
- March 16, 2003: 23-year-old American peace activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by a US-custom-made armored Caterpillar bulldozer while she was protecting a home in Gaza from demolition by the Israeli army.
- March 19, 1869: US president Ulysses S. Grant issues the National Eight Hour Law Proclamation, guaranteeing a ‘stable wage’ and an eight-hour workday for government workers only
- March 19, 1968: Howard University students seize campus to demand African American studies courses
ACTIONS
- NC General Assembly: Speak up today against Senate Bill 261 – a ‘bad deal for NC’, says the NC Justice Center. The bill would lower NC’s carbon goals & increase energy rates without oversight. Contact Your NC House Representative today — by March 18: Reach out to your local House representatives to express opposition to SB 261. Emphasize the potential negative impacts on consumers and the environment (organized by Clean AIRE NC)
- Other important bills at the NC General Assembly:
==> Speak up against House Bill 171. (attacks equity)
==> Speak up against Senate Bill 58 & House Bill 72 (threatens voting rights in NC)
==> Speak up for House Bill 47 (provides needed funds to Western NC; though falls short of addressing social safety needs) - Rally for Leqa’a Kordia and Mahmoud Khalil: ICE & DHS Off Our Campus. UNC South Building. UNC-Chapel Hill University. Wednesday March 19. • 1 pm
- Rally against Repression: Free Mahmoud! Thursday March 20 • 2 pm Stafford Commons, NCSU. Sign & Send a letter to NCSU, UNC-CH, & UNC-G Board and Chancellors.Sign on to this letter opposing CEQ’s revocation of NEPA implementation regulations (organized by Combined Defense 3.0)
- Tell Congress: Stop Elon Musk and DOGE from destroying our National Parks (organized by More Perfect Union)
- Call to Action: Executive Order Aims to Gut Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Please Note: Congress will soon be in recess; We have less than seven days to make our voices heard. Do call on Congress to ensure the appropriation of funds to all statutorily authorized programs at IMLS for the remainder of this fiscal year. Send a letter of support to your Congressmen and Congresswomen, urging them to protect IMLS and the essential funding it provides to our institutions.
EVENTS
- Event: Tuscarora People & The East Coast Women’s Alliance invite you to a Press Conference Today – Tuesday March 18 • 10:30 AM, and a Prayer Patrol on Wednesday March 19 • 8:45 AM, and a Court Patrol at 9:00 AM at 300 Courthouse Square in Beaufort (Details below)
- RSVP to listen in on a Congressional Briefing on the EPA’s endangerment finding, the 30 other important environment protections. Today – Tuesday March 18 • 2 PM
- RSVP: Project Esther & Resistance to White Supremacy – CODEPINK Congress Capitol Calling Party. Webinar. Today Tuesday, March 18, 2025 • 8:00pm – 9:00 PM
- Register: Interrupting Criminalization (IC) invites you to a Transformative Justice Under Authoritarianism Webinar on We
dnesday, March 26 • 5:00-6:30 PM (Will be talking about abolitionist organizing rooted in transformative justice in the current context of Argentina under the authoritarian regime of Javier Gerardo Milei, elected in 2023, & how Yo No Fui draws on lineages of Argentine resistance by mothers, piquetera/os, & feminist strikers to push back, and opportunities for shared learning & solidarity) - Join the upcoming Durham immigrant Defense Planning in-person meet up on Thursday March 27 • 6-8 PM to connect with other folks from your area to talk through the next steps and get started
- Event: Want to learn how you can stand up and fight back? join Raleigh United Mutual Aid Hub (RUMAH) for a How to End An Oligarchy teach-in on Saturday, March 29th • 4 PM, 415 Hillsborough St in Raleigh
- Event: Project Esther Exposed: Censorship, Repression and the Fight for Solidarity. Thursday, April 3 • 7:00 PM, at FedEx Global Education Center RM 1005, UNC, 301 Pittsboro St, Chapel HillSee our calendar for events from previous newsletters.Subscribe to our calendar and share your events
NEWS
North Carolina
- Read: Trump has politicized science. Scientists have had enough (NCEJN’s Dr. Dani Lin Hunter quoted) (March 14)
- Read: NC plan lets factories keep dumping toxic chemicals in drinking water (March 13)
- Read: EPA rollbacks could threaten NC drinking water, climate protections (March 13)
- Read: Federal funding freeze creates chaos for North Carolina nonprofits combating homelessness (March 14)
- Read: USDA cancels $11 million in federal funding for North Carolina food banks (March 14)
- Read: Farmer Foodshare is bringing more local produce to Durham public schools (March 17)
- Read: Making Activism Your Day Job – My Forever Chemical Journey: on on the upcoming documentary, GENX: THE SAGA OF FOREVER CHEMICALS (March 5)
- Read: Representation matters: The vital role of DEI in healthcare (March 14)
Nation-wide
- Read: US reports the first outbreak of deadly H7N9 bird flu since 2017 (March 17)
- Read: NASA Analysis Shows Unexpected Amount of Sea Level Rise in 2024 (March 13)
- Read: Food & Water Watch’s strategic plan for the next four years (March 13)
- Read: The tough fight to unionize Amazon (March 17)
- More articles on the EPA:
- Read: EPA moves to decimate clean water protections with support from the Farm Bureau (March 13)
- Read: EPA’s decision to scrap $20 billion in climate grants based on ‘inaccurate, politicized’ claims, says grantee. (March 14)
- Read: The end of the EPA’s fight to protect overpolluted communities (March 17)
- Read: “Imperialism and Totalitarianism go hand in hand”: Trump’s policies at home and abroad (March 14)
- Read: Khalil case shows how migrant justice and Palestine solidarity are tied together (March 15) ==> For more on the relationships between this case, the First Amendment, migrant justice, and more, please see these talking/writing points
- Read: Historic lawsuit filed challenging attack on free speech; national injunction demanded (March 16)
- Read: Trump rushes deportations using a wartime law with a shameful history (March 16) ==> An important note: As stated by the Democracy Docket, “When Donald Trump tried to use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to justify deportations, the lawyers of Democracy Forward and the ACLU sprang into action, quickly filed a and secured relief within 24 hours.”
- Read: The Boomerang Comes Back How the U.S.-backed war on Palestine is expanding authoritarianism at home—from Project Esther to violence at the border – also watch the recent interview here
- Read: The Rights of Nature Become a Rallying Point Against an Ascendant Mining Industry (March 6). Watch the full tribunal here
Internationally
RESOURCES
- Tool: The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Climate Vulnerability Index
JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Southern Coalition For Social Justice (SCSJ) is hiring a Communications Specialist
- Democracy NC is hiring a Digital Media Associate
Book Corner
This week, We refuse - by Kelly Carter Jackson is suggested by our friend Shaun Jackson. Check out the preface for a glimpse into this book.
“Kellie Carter Jackson taps the wellsprings of memory, archives, oral histories, literature, imagination, and personal experience to tell a very Black story of armed resistance, strategic retreat, unbreakable resolve, and joyous rapture. Reading this book will cause discomfort in some folks, provoke cheers in others. But I doubt anyone will be able to put it down.” — Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams
Consider buying this book from an independent book store.
For the month of March, Haymarket books is offering a 4 books for <$50 bundle: The Abolition Feminisms Book Bundle. Haymarket books also hosts webinars on different subjects of concern to the social and environmental justice movements.
Please Click The Image to Register
(if link is available)
