Volume XLVII, Number 1 – Spring 2023
Included in this issue:
BOLD Cycle 3
Young Activist Leaders Program (YALP) Update
Peace and Justice Action Committee (PJAC) Update
Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ) Update
No New Jail 2023
Save the date for the PJALS Spring Benefit
Honoring Black History Month 2023
BOLD Cycle 3
BOLD – Building Organizing Leadership Development – returns this spring on Monday, March 6 at 6pm via Zoom with kickoff of BOLD Academy.
If you haven’t heard of it yet, BOLD is how our PJALS community, in partnership with Spokane Community Against Racism (SCAR), Hispanic Business/Professional Association (HBPA), APIC, Spectrum Center Spokane, and others, are joining together to fight racism and economic justice in Spokane County!
First, we come together for BOLD Academy. In these five weekly sessions, we learn how racism and economic injustice intertwine to oppress some people and fracture our community, while consolidating power in the hands of the reactionary rich.
Next, we hit the streets! Together we deep canvass across Spokane using our race-class analysis to invite people to join us in our community of action.
This year, we’ll be applying our BOLD analysis to fight against a new jail and for smart justice solutions that keep our community safe through care-driven, proven strategies that invest in the people Spokane.
This will be our 3rd cycle of BOLD, and we are so excited to continue this journey with you. Don’t forget to mark your calendars, and we’ll see you there!
Registration is now OPEN for BOLD Cycle 3!
BOLD Academy will take place Monday, March 6, 13, 20, 27 and April 3. Canvassing dates will be announced at the beginning of the workshop series, to take place in April and May. You can register for BOLD Academy in three simple steps:
Step 1: Take the BOLD Readiness Survey
This survey uses five questions to help you determine your readiness for BOLD Academy. Since BOLD is not a Racism 101-style program, we’ve provided this survey to help everyone determine their comfort and familiarity with key concepts around race and class.
Anyone can take this survey to help determine their BOLD readiness. However, we’re asking everyone who plans to participate in the white caucus to fill it out. This survey is intended to help promote a learning environment where most people are starting from a similar place.
Step 2: Choose your caucus
White people and people of color have work to do separately, and together, to dismantle racism. The first four BOLD Academy sessions are held in race-based caucuses, which will offer specialized learning environments. We commit to come back together to do our shared work.
Everyone should choose the caucus that best reflects their personal racial identity. White people should choose the white caucus, and non-white people should choose the BIPOC caucus. We do not wish to perpetuate historical trauma by policing who is white or non-white “enough.” Instead, we ask everyone to use their best judgment, respecting that the BIPOC caucus is intended to be exclusive to those with lived experience of systemic and structural racism. It is a place for BIPOC people of all kinds to do their own learning: No observers. No allies. No exceptions.
You can learn more about race-based caucuses on the BOLD FAQ page – particularly the sections on Why is BOLD using race-based caucuses? and What if I don’t know which caucus to join?
Step 3: Choose your ticket type
There are tickets that provide admission to each caucus, both in person and online. Please feel free to choose the option that is best for you. All scholarships must be arranged in advance.
For the best learning experience we encourage everyone to attend BOLD in person if at all possible, however, some remote participation tickets are available. Online participants will access the workshops using Zoom.
The total number of tickets is limited, and we understand that five weeks is a significant commitment. We ask that registrants commit to attending at least four of the five total BOLD Academy sessions to the best of their ability, but please feel free to communicate with the facilitators about any changes in circumstances, or obstacles to participation. We’ll do our best to accommodate you. Register below to reserve your spot. We can’t wait to be BOLD with you.
Scholarships are available! If the cost is a barrier to your participation, please don’t hesitate to contact Jac at [email protected]
Young Activist Leaders Program (YALP) Update
The Young Activist Leaders Program (YALP) is a subprogram of PJALS that supports young people to make a difference on social justice causes they care about and help them connect in the greater Spokane community. YALP is for young people ages 15-22 who are passionate about social justice.
There are two main aspects of YALP: workshops and project support.
-
- Youth leaders run hands-on workshops on the basics of organizing: the most important knowledge to be an effective comunity organizer and leader.
- Project support provides young people with resources to advance the social justice projects they are working on. Together, young people build collective voice and true community.
This year, YALP is going through a rework as we bring new interns on staff. We are planning to start an abbreviated YALP session at the end of February, so there is still time to get involved! Sign up here, and watch for future messaging about dates for the upcoming session!
Peace and Justice Action Committee (PJAC) Update
The Peace and Justice Action Committee works with the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL). This quarter, the FCNL is focused on promoting federal investments in Peace building. From the FCNL website:
“Increasing support for peace building initiatives can help prevent sudden outbreaks of violence and heal fractured communities. This, in turn, reduces the need for humanitarian aid and enables the pursuit of sustainable economic development, climate adaptation, good governance, and the protection of human rights.”
We’ll be asking our members of congress to invest $131 million for the Complex Crisis Fund, Reconciliation Programs, and Atrocities Prevention. You can learn more about the FCNL priorities here. PJAC is also expanding our actions to educate the community through Letters to the Editor and blog posts.
Finally, we’re exploring activist opportunities with Washington Against Nuclear Weapons, a statewide coalition that aims to reduce and eliminate all components of the 1.7 trillion dollar rebuild of the US nuclear weapons arsenal and ultimately abolish nuclear weapons worldwide.
PJAC meets the second Tuesday of every month, and our next meeting is March 14 at 5:30pm via Zoom. If you’d like to join this work, send an email to Jac at [email protected] with the subject line, “Interested in PJAC.”
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Update
Our Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) committee continues to host our anti-racist education through book discussions and is currently in the beginning phase of planning fundraisers for 2023. Our committee meets twice a month with one meeting dedicated to book discussions and the other to planning. If you are looking for ways to take action for racial equity, you are welcome to attend a meeting to see if this is the space for you.
As we begin a new year, we would love to hear from you on how you would like to engage in anti-racism work. Please take a moment to fill out this survey to share your ideas.
Our fundraisers are part of our commitment to support the work and organizations led by Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) in our community. We have just begun planning for our next fundraiser so now is a great time to join this part of our anti-racist work.
Our book discussions are a part of our anti-racist education that has been primarily focused on the learning and unlearning white people need to do to reduce harm while engaging in social justice work. We will be starting a new book on March 9th.
- Book discussions are on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 5:30pm via Zoom.
- Planning meetings are on the 4th Thursday of each month at 5:30pm via Zoom
- Note: In February, both meetings will be focused on planning a fundraiser to support APIC Spokane
If you would like to join the discussion and aren’t on the SURJ email list yet, email Shar at [email protected] to be added to the committee specific email list.
No New Jail 2023
PJALS opposes the ballot measure from County Commissioners Kerns and French to build a new jail in Spokane County.
Kerns and French voted in December to put a measure on the November 2023 ballot to ask voters to fund a new jail and unspecified programs with a 0.2% sales tax increase. They chose to hold this vote when County Commissioner Mary Kuney was out of town and just a few weeks before new County Commissioners Amber Waldref and Chris Jordan would be sworn in.
From the Spokesman: “If voters approve it, the tax would generate more than $1 billion over 30 years…. Spokane County would receive 60% of the funds, while the remaining 40% would be distributed among the county’s municipalities. Precisely how the millions would be spent is a mystery, and not entirely up to the county commissioners.”
Jail is the most expensive and least effective way to create safe communities. African Americans, Native Americans, and other people of color are being stopped, questioned, arrested, and jailed at disproportionate rates in our community. The vast majority of the people in the jail are held on low level charges, awaiting trial, and unable to afford bail. This systemically racist, harmful system must not be allowed to expand.
Every consultant, committee, task force, and community process for the last decade has told the county to jail fewer people and make our community safer through proven strategies for recovery, healing, and support rather than creating more cells.
This push for a new jail may be defeated in 1 of 2 ways. A majority of now-seated County Commissioners can vote to remove it from the ballot. Or, the ballot measure can be voted down by the people in November. You’ll hear more about this campaign, because we are committed to ending mass incarceration & systemic racism in Spokane County and defeating the push for a new jail. To commit now to voting against this measure, sign on at pjals.org/nonewjail.
Honoring Black History Month 2023
As an organization with multi-racial, majority white membership, we are spending this Black History Month amplifying and celebrating the voices of Black creators, educators, and Black-led organizations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Join us in a commitment to not only learn with intention, but to turn knowledge into anti-racist action, in and beyond this month.
We encourage you to support Black-owned restaurants like Chkn-N-Mo, Queen of Sheba, Fresh Soul, and The Soul Lounge. For a more comprehensive list, refer to this article from the Inlander.
We particularly call upon our white bodied folks to actively seek education on Spokane’s unique Black History. You can begin by visiting Spokane Community Against Racism’s (SCAR) website page on Spokane Black History.
A few opportunities to celebrate Black History Month in the Spokane community include:
- Carl Maxey Center’s Black History Month Event at the Spokane Central Library, Alethea Concert, Black Business Expo, and more.
- The Home: Imagining the Irrevocable exhibit at Gonzaga University that showcases African American artists around Eastern Washington.
- The Ubuhle Women: Beadwork and the Art of Independence exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC)
Lastly, be sure to follow SCAR, Carl Maxey Center, Spokane NAACP, and the Martin Luther King Jr Family Outreach Center on social media to find additional resources and ways to support our Black community here in Spokane.