This week: links to our recent blogs on SCOTUS DACA hearings, Kirwan and the Assembly and vigilance against the chipping away of working families’ gains. Plus statewide training opportunities, battles on school improvement and Medicare for All, news and events from PM’s chapters, and events from our progressive allies.
Â
This week: links to our recent blogs on SCOTUS DACA hearings, Kirwan and the Assembly and vigilance against the chipping away of working families’ gains. Plus statewide training opportunities, battles on school improvement and Medicare for All, news and events from PM’s chapters, and events from our progressive allies.
STATEWIDE
DECEMBER 14 PROGRESSIVE MARYLAND STATEWIDE MEETING
Progressive Maryland Statewide Annual Meeting Organizing Meeting SATURDAY, December 14 9 AM – 5 PM  at the Episcopal Church of St. Michael and All Angels, 2013 Saint Paul St, Baltimore, MD 21218 Members of Progressive Maryland are invited to participate in this year’s exciting Annual Statewide Meeting! We will be convening in Baltimore this year. Meet the full staff and core leaders of Progressive Maryland! Reconnect with our collective vision for the state! Share your work and get more deeply involved in the campaigns for Fair Elections, Public Education Equity, Criminal Justice Reform, and more! Learn about our progressive candidates across the state and our plans for co-governance and training.
Come and be nourished with delicious food, local entertainment, and powerful relationship building time! Sign Up Now
GAIN THE SKILLS IT TAKES TO BUILD POWER AND MAKE IT WORK FOR WORKING FAMILIES
Sunday, November 24 – Co-governance training in Annapolis 10 AM-5 PM . And co-governance is? Read about it here. Space is limited; to sign up or get information contact Beth M at [email protected]
Saturday, December 7 – Movement Leadership training in Rockville, 9 AM to 5 PM, MCEA, 12 Taft Ct, Rockville, MD 20850  -- agitational training designed to develop grassroots leaders' skills around building power.
Â
The Push for More Support for Community Schools is at the heart of the Kirwan Commission proposals to improve Maryland’s schools. A recent poll shows that about three out of four Marylanders want more money spent on public schools but have low information on what’s being proposed. Here is the excellent recent summary from the Maryland Reporter’s state roundup; it has links to full coverage in several outlets: Luke Broadwater of the Sun reports that in the survey conducted Sept. 13-18, 74% of Marylanders said they support personally paying more in taxes to improve public education, while only 26% were opposed. But only about 22% of those polled said they were aware of the work of the Kirwan Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, which has rolled out a decade-long reform plan that could cost about $3.8 billion more each year once fully implemented, Danielle Gaines reports for Maryland Matters.
Progressive Maryland activists and your communities can find out more about the Kirwan proposals: The “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future” coalition, including Progressive Maryland and teachers’ organizations statewide, has set 23 information sessions from the mountains to the Shore – this week there are sessions TODAY (Nov. 12) in Cecil County, Nov. 13 in Calvert County, Nov. 14 in Wicomico, Queen Anne’s and Frederick counties and a forum Nov. 18 in Prince George’s that will headline Drs. Brit Kirwan and Alvin Thornton. The town halls continue to November 25 -- see them all here.
MEDICARE FOR ALL IS GAINING SUPPORT NATIONALLY AND IN MARYLAND The Medicare for All town hall held in Gaithersburg on Oct. 20 by our allies in the Maryland Progressive Healthcare Coalition (MPHC) is now available on a video stream and is already approaching 18,000 views. Take a look at the explainer, an introductory talk by Our Revolution president Larry Cohen (retired president of the Communications Workers, CWA) and a panel of expert analysts who also respond to some solid questions from the audience. https://www.facebook.com/OurRevolutionMD/videos/531692600951283/
OUR CHAPTERS AROUND THE STATE
Advocates for criminal justice reform in Prince George’s County are circulating this petition for the removal of Police Chief Henry Stawinski, arguing that “Chief Stawinski fails to hold police officers accountable under Maryland and federal law for acts of criminal misconduct, including for such acts as murder and other forms of violent assault;” and that he “permits Prince George’s County police officers to use excessive force, especially when dealing with black people.” A more complete account of the activists’ arguments is at the petition link.
December 7 Movement Leadership Training Organizing Meeting Saturday, December 7, 9 AM - 5 PM at MCEA, 12 Taft Ct, Rockville, MD 20850 Progressive Maryland is hosting a 1-day Movement Leadership Training for current and prospective members. Folks from Montgomery County, Prince George's County, and Central and Western Maryland are encouraged to attend. This is an agitational training designed to develop grassroots leaders' skills around building power in alignment with their self-interest. The training costs $25, which covers lunch, snacks, and materials. Sign Up Now
Take Action Anne Arundel County
Lower Shore Progressive CaucusÂ
Baltimore will host the Progressive Maryland Statewide Meeting Saturday, Dec. 14 – see above.
EVENTS FROM OUR PROGRESSIVE ALLIES
TUES Nov 12 - RIght to Harm will be screened by University of MD School of Public Health, 5:45 PM – documentary on the public health impact of factory farming, usually most impacting vulnerable communities. Panel discussion follows. Co-hosted by the UMD's chapter of 17 for Peace and Justice. See Facebook event for more details.
WED Nov. 13 Emergency Action to support HBCUs -- 1 PM, outside House Office Building, 6 Bladen St. Annapolis -- called by Legislative Black Caucus, education activists, alumni, sororal/fraternal organizations to demand a just remedy for Maryland's historical neglect of black educational institutions.
WED Nov. 13, Greenbelt Climate Action Network (GCAN) -- The “Green Amendment,  7 PM – 9 PM Greenbelt Community Center, 15 Crescent Road, Greenbelt 20770 -- Discussion of a campaign to create a Maryland constitutional amendment to guarantee our rights to a healthy environment. Presenter is longtime advocate Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin.
Thursday, November 14 7-9 PM: MoCo DSA Rent Control campaign planning meeting
Held in downtown Silver Spring — Please join us at our next Rent Control planning meeting. We’ll be discussing more specifics of the campaign, including member organizing, communications, and research. Send us an email to get the location if you’d like to attend!
MON Nov. 18 Blueprint for Excellence school improvement forum Oxon Hill High School, 7 – 8:30 PM. Headliners are Brit Kirwan and Dr. Alvin Thornton. Details and RSVP here https://www.progressivemaryland.org/princegeorges
SAT Nov. 23 Prince George’s DSA and allies pre-Session Briefing, Noon-2 PM, New Carrollton Library, 7414 Riverdale Road, New Carrollton – co-sponsors include Progressive Maryland. Former Del. Jimmy Tarlau will motivate discussion on progressive opportunities in the 2020 General Assembly session, beginning in January with new leadership in both chambers.
SUN Dec 8 Future of Healthcare Town Hall — 1:30 – 4 PM Miller Branch of Howard County Library System 9421 Frederick Road, Ellicott City  21042. Details at link.
SUN Dec. 15 Maryland Legislative Summit, 10 AM to 5 PM at UMBC Catonsville. Details at https://mailchi.mp/038a7a4d5fb0/bills-for-the-week-of-march-5th-1056375?e=d378240ba7
SUN Dec. 15  MoCo DSA 🌹General Branch Meeting 2 PM, Silver Spring Library, 900 Wayne Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910 DSA members and state delegates Gabe Acevero and Vaughn Stewart discuss the upcoming 2020 state legislative session. Follow link for full details/updates.
Baltimore progressives, Check in on the wide-ranging Baltimore Activist Alert calendar and tip sheet at http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
Reading the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace: our recent blogs 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 blog posts:
Â
November 09, 2019 Action urged for Supreme Court DACA hearing Tuesday
Marylanders – and friends outside the state – should realize that a genuine crossroads for our nation’s values and health is before us this week as the US Supreme Court considers the legal logjam on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. There is much to do.
November 08, 2019 Assembly majority ready to move on Kirwan school improvements AND construction
Earlier this week Democratic leadership in the Assembly came down firmly on both sides of the school improvement project agenda -- adopting and funding the Kirwan commission proposals and putting their weight behind school construction at an advanced pace, as well.
Given that Gov. Hogan has served notice he will use tax-hike trash talk to raise money to oppose the funding with the GOP's sleazy low-tax mantra, that's reassuring to activists around the state who know better schools are the motor of a better life for Maryland's working families.
Legislators who are cowering on the sidelines in this fight will find they need to step up or face opposition. So say we all.
November 05, 2019 Who are the excluded? Not the rich...
As the 2020 session approaches, many experienced voices are reminding us that the legislative process, often masked in committee deliberations, steadily excludes different people from bills meant to be broad-ranging -- doing the bidding of business and corporations. It happened in the New Deal, and it happened (and is still happening) in the Maryland General Assembly. The lesson? We have to build power and organize now to fight the lobbyists and business interests that never stop chipping away at laws like paid sick leave and the $15 minimum wage.
November 04, 2019 Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Monday, November 4, 2019
The Weekly Memo -- GOTV time with local elections TOMORROW (Tuesday, Nov. 5) around the state. We have endorsed candidates to support! Plus education reform, Medicare for All, calendar events including our Dec. 14 Statewide Meeting in Baltimore, and much more. Read on below.
>>REMEMBER – these blog posts are frequently expressions of political opinion from our wide-ranging membership and circle of allies. They are not expressions of opinion by Progressive Maryland. Don’t be surprised if they sometimes vary in their political content. You might even disagree with them – a good reason to contribute a blog of your own. Send it to the moderator, Woody Woodruff, at [email protected].
>>Keeping up with the blogs is easier with the index. The blogs published in the PM BlogSpace from June 2015 through December 2016 are all available with descriptions and links here. You can follow blogs for 2017-18 starting from here
Â
Â
Â
Â
Do you like this page?