Briefing on Recent Political Violence

with Kate Bitz, Western States Center

Join us and Western States Center Program Manager & Organizer Kate Bitz (she/her) to break down the reality of political violence including the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump.

Western States Center works nationwide to build a future where all people can live, love, worship, and work free from bigotry and fear. Their strategies include helping communities and civil society effectively respond to anti-democratic social movements.

Kate is an expert on extremist groups and organized acts of violence in the Inland Northwest and will brief us on far-right responses to the assassination attempt and the context of political violence. We’ll discuss the impact these acts of violence will have on our movement and how we can respond as we go into the height of the 2024 election season.

Strategizing Against Liberal White Supremacy

with Dr. Angie Beeman

How do liberal European Americans reinforce inequality and what actions can they take to meaningfully advance racial justice?

* White participants in this interactive workshop will learn key terms, engage in self-reflection, and identify ways to break out of paralysis and disempowerment to be a more effective ally for racial and economic justice.
* BIPOC participants at Dr. Beeman’s workshops find validation in their experiences and gain vocabulary as well as tools to address liberal white supremacy.

Dr. Angie Beeman will discuss how white supremacy is maintained not only by right-wing conservatives or stereotypically uneducated working-class racial bigots but also by progressives who operate from a liberal ideology of color-blindness, racism-evasiveness, and class elitism. Drawing from her academic expertise and experience as well as her personal life growing up in a working class family in Appalachia with a Korean American mother and white father, Dr. Beeman brings a race-class perspective to offer analysis and strategies. Rather than downplaying racism in favor of a class-centered approach or taking a talk-centered approach to racism without developing explicit actions to challenge it, Dr. Beeman will advance action-oriented and racism-centered intersectional approaches.

Dr. Angie Beeman is the author of “Liberal White Supremacy: How Progressives Silence Racial and Class Oppression.” Dr. Beeman is an Associate Professor in the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs and Affiliate Faculty with Black and Latinx Studies at Baruch College. She is also an Associate Editor of Critical Sociology. Her research examines changing expressions of racism and how this affects interracial organizing, progressive politics, and workplace equity.

This event is part of Asian American Heritage Month 2024.

Sponsored by Eastern Washington University, Asians for Collective Liberation – Spokane, Spokane Community Against Racism, NAACP Spokane, Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, and Greater Spokane Progress.

Ceasefire and Beyond: What’s Happening in Palestine/Israel and Its Impacts Q&A

with Sabrene Odeh and Alice Rothchild

Join us for an educational dialogue!

In this moment, it is imperative to recognize our shared humanity and tied liberation. This facilitated Q&A session aims to create dialogue around the ongoing violence in Palestine/Israel. Participants are encouraged to submit questions ahead of time and actively engage during the webinar. Topics up for discussion include but are not limited to:

• Historical and current conditions in Palestine/Israel
• Rise in Islamophobic and antisemitic hate crimes and rhetoric
• The necessary distinctions between people and their governments
• Antisemitism, anti-Muslim racism, and imperialism fueling the United States government’s past and current role and support in the genocide faced by the Palestinian people
• Current and lasting impacts of the ongoing violence

We are joined by Sabrene Odeh (she/her) who is the Co-founder of Baladna, an organization created for Palestinian community, organizing, and advocacy; as well as Alice Rothchild (she/her) a Jewish activist, author, and retired obstetrician who supported health care efforts in Gaza and now serves on the JVP Health Advisory Council. Following the Q&A, we take immediate action together. Join us in urging our legislators to advocate for a permanent ceasefire and the development of just and peaceful solutions to address the profound impacts on lives, displacement, and violence in Palestine and Israel.

Progressive Approaches to Addressing Antisemitism 2023 Conference Presentation

with Shane Burley and Ben Lorber

Based on the extensive archival research, original reporting, and over 150 interviews, our workshop is intended to take the lessons derived from progressive and antiracist approaches to community organizing and to apply them to antisemitism. Building on intersectionality, Critical Race Theory, Critical Theory, and other interdisciplinary interventions, our workshop attempts to develop a unique approach to the question of antisemitism that situates that struggle within larger movements opposing white supremacy, Christian dominance, and the legacies of settler colonialism. This workshop synthesizes the thesis and strategies that coalesced in an upcoming book for Melville House, which proposes a pathway for confronting antisemitism from within progressive social movements.

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Fighting Antisemitism through Solidarity: A Justice-Based Approach Conference Presentation

with Ben Lorber

In our era of exclusionary ultranationalism, there is no question that antisemitism in America is on the rise, from the growing white nationalist movement to the increasingly radicalizing base of MAGA supporters. At the same time, national debates around what constitutes antisemitism are more politically charged, contentious, and confusing than ever. For progressive movements that care both about fighting antisemitism and winning justice and peace in Israel/Palestine, it’s more important than ever to get clear on these issues, as we protest Israeli human rights violations and advocate for freedom and equality for Palestinians.

Antisemitism is an ideology of conspiracy theory that locks systems of oppression in place, by keeping people confused about who’s really in charge. This interactive workshop will help us understand antisemitism through an intersectional lens, analyzing both how it impacts Jewish communities and how it works alongside other forms of oppression, such as anti-immigrant xenophobia, anti-black racism and anti-LGBTQ bigotry, to keep broader structures of racial capitalism in place. We’ll get clear on the difference between antisemitism and criticism of the actions of Israel or the political ideology of Zionism, while recognizing that antisemitism, like other kinds of oppression, can sometimes show up in progressive movements. Finally, we’ll explore strategies of fighting antisemitism wherever it shows up, from a perspective of solidarity and collective liberation.

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Approaches to Change & Power Mapping Workshop

Youth organizers Ivy and Sarah present on different ways to make change on local and national levels. They also cover how to make change by working the way up institutions or individuals who have power.

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Countering White Nationalism

Preventing Online Recruitment of Youth

With so many young people on the internet as schools are using online learning, there is more likely exposure to white nationalist recruitment content. This webinar comes with recording, slides, and resource sheet to help safeguard our youth.

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We Keep Us Safe with Organizer/Attorney/Author Zach Norris

Zach discusses his newly released book, We Keep Us Safe: Building Secure, Just, and Inclusive Communities, laying out a new vision of a care-based strategy for public safety that overturns more than 200 years of fear-based discrimination, othering, and punishment.

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Organizing Workshop

The organizing workshop will cover the basics of grassroots organizing. Specific organizing tactics, key steps to mobilization, and the anatomy of a successful campaign are included in the workshop recordings and slides.

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Anti-Asian Racism

Bystander Intervention Training

Sign up for the recordings and slides from this important workshop on how to speak up against anti-Asian racism in person or online.

Access workshop here