Our weekly memo, with organizing info from PM's expanding footprint in Maryland: Howard, Baltimore City, criminal justice/incarceration organizing project, Prince George's -- plus links to recent blog posts on the People's Action convention and other items.

 The Progressive Maryland Monday Memo: ORGANIZING NOTES

Monday, May 1 Progressive Anne Arundel -- County budget overview session with Councilman  Chris Trumbauer (Dist. 6) 5:30 p.m. at the Ram’s Head, Annapolis,  more info at https://www.facebook.com/events/1766949860301619/

Mass Incarceration Campaign

        We are looking for members to lead on this campaign -- Please contact Alexiss Kurtz at [email protected]

    Fair Elections Campaign

       Monday May 8…  Suchitra is organizing an action at the Prince George’s County budget hearing on Monday, May 8th at 7 p.m. in Upper Marlboro. Fifty Progressive Prince George's members out there to demand that the council fund a program that, in short, forbids candidates using the funds from taking money from corporations (among other restrictions) and provides matching funds for small donations (under $150) from residents so that they add up to just as much money as candidates would be getting from wealthy donors and corporations. Put it on your calendar, please! Stay tuned for exact location!

 Thursday, May 11  Prince George's County Chapter Meeting: Local 400, UFCW, 8400 Corporate Drive, Lanham MD  6: 30 p.m. members needed to volunteer to help with recruitment calls and texts.            Please contact the Prince George's leadership team:  Rev. Diane Teichert [email protected];                Amity P [email protected];  Hawah Cyllah [email protected]; Charles Smith [email protected]

 Howard County Chapter  HoCo is recruiting leaders to plan chapter meeting. Please contact Dave Bazell via [email protected]

Baltimore City   Baltimore City is recruiting members to become chapter leaders to plan first chapter meeting.   Please contact Alexiss Kurtz at [email protected]

Leadership Training Program:

• Training: Look out for two upcoming leadership training events this summer from PM.
  • 1 Day training on May 20th 
  • 3 Day training on the 23rd-25th
• Existing Trainees: Complete survey and schedule a one-on-one with Movement Politics Director [email protected]

 OUR ALLIES

Thursday, May 4 Progressive Cheverly presents “Russia: What's going on” -- talk by Corey Flintoff, longtime NPR international correspondent based in Moscow, now retired, and a Cheverly resident. He will be interviewed by Dr. Liz Papazian, who is a specialist in Russian studies teaching at the University of Maryland.   To be followed by a Q&A session with audience members. 7 p.m. Hoyer Education Center (cafeteria) 2300 Belleview Ave. (Parking Available) Cheverly. Light refreshments will be served.

  It all happens for free… right? Not exactly. Organizing for change in our society and our politics requires both people and money. Keep change moving with a quick, secure impulse-buy contribution here.

 Reading the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace: our blogs for the previous week are shown below, but if you want a handy way to keep track – and never miss a blog post – you can sign up to get this Weekly Memo by email. Remember this is your blogspace and your participation is heartily invited. See something going on that you don’t like – or that you do like and hope to see more of? Send us your thoughts; submit to the moderator at [email protected]

We recently published these blogs:

April 28, 2017 Intersectionality Matters (and here’s why)

"People of color and many other minority groups find themselves struggling to get people to understand their story... Sheriffs, mayors, governors, representatives, congressmen, presidents, and oil companies move forward on their agenda as if an entire group of people were non-existent. THEY DON’T HEAR US." Kimberly Riofrio, a Montgomery County activist in Progressive Maryland, defends a conscious and dynamic -- if sometimes uncomfortable -- awareness of diversity in our progressive movements.

April 26, 2017 People's Action gathering: "Radical Imagination of What's Next"

A talk delivered by George Goehl, co-director of People's Action, to 1200-plus progressives from across the US at the PA founding convention Sunday night (April 23). Progressive Maryland is a state affiliate of People's Action, which has recently partnered in a newly strengthened organization with the Campaign for America's Future.

April 25, 2017 Bernie Sanders fires up the People's Action convention Monday

Sen. Bernie Sanders, as he always does, wowed the 1000-plus attendees of the People's Action founding convention Monday afternoon. PA's Libero della Piana wrote this account for Progressive Breakfast, the online PA blog.

April 24, 2017 Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for April 24-30

Our national umbrella organization People's Action, newly consolidated, is having a founding convention early this week right in DC and our attention is on that. Plus upcoming events and the most recent blog posts with links.

Keeping up with the blogs is easier with the index. The blogs published in the PM BlogSpace since June 2015 are all available with descriptions and links here.