Call to Action-Defend Immigrants
Call to Action – Defend Immigrants
Fellow Greens and Green Party Supporters, your support and action are needed.
The Trump Administration is ramping up its targeting of immigrant communities. ICE agents are emboldened, knowing that they do not have to focus on violent criminals. More people, with little to no criminal record, are being swept up in immigration raids (“Immigration Agents Discover New Freedom to Depot Under Trump,” New York Times, 2/25/17). The Obama Administration was hardly a panacea for immigrants, deporting a record 2 million people. However, Obama's stated policy was to prioritize violent criminals and gang members. Under Trump, anyone without documents is at risk, and the Trump administration will look to far surpass Obama's numbers.
As Green Party members, we recognize that Trump and Obama policies on immigration are wrong-headed and completely backwards. Here are a few statements from our national platform:
“The Green Party stands firmly for social justice for all those living in this country regardless of their immigration status.”
“The undocumented immigrants who are already residing and working in the United States, and their families, should be granted a legal status which includes the chance to become U.S. citizens. Persons should be excluded from this process only if they present a clear and present danger to other members of our society.”
“The Green Party calls for permanent border passes to all citizens of Mexico and Canada whose identity can be traced and verified. Work permits for citizens of Mexico and Canada must be easily obtainable, thereby decriminalizing the act of gainful employment.”
“All persons fleeing political, racial, religious, or other types of persecution must be welcomed and given permanent resident status.”
“There are many countries in the world where the economic policies and military actions of the U.S. government or U.S. based corporations have caused extreme hardships. The peoples of these countries deserve special consideration if they wish to come to the U.S. to escape intolerable conditions created by our government or U.S. corporations.”
“We must keep faith with our commitment to the United Nations, to assist in the resettlement, including to our own country, of refugees currently stranded in refugee camps in other parts of the world.”
“All those who are issued work permits must have the option to come and go from the U.S. as they desire. They must also have the option of remaining in the U.S. and becoming U.S. Citizens.”
What the Green Party recognizes is the benefit that immigrants, documented and undocumented, provide to the well-being of our nation. Immigrants not only do important work and provide important services, they spend money, start businesses and create wealth. We can credit ILLEGAL immigration with providing billions of dollars to our social security system, giving it a chance to remain solvent. Furthermore, immigrants add to the cultural and social fabric of society, making it livable. Many of our rural areas, which are dying from lack of opportunity and drug addiction, would be well served by large influxes of immigrants. Immigration is a net gain for our country, and we should welcome and encourage it, as a matter of policy. *(This is not to say that we should not continue to push for better trade deals that provide more humane conditions for workers, farmers and peasants, thereby reducing the economic push factor of emigration/immigration).
While our vision is sound, we have to recognize the current reality. We are nowhere near to realizing a Green Party vision on immigration. Rather, our communities and fellow residents are under threat, and resistance is paramount.
Greens should join with immigrant advocacy groups that are resisting the Trump agenda.
Many advocates are calling for the passage of the Maryland Trust Act (HB1362/SB825), which would make Maryland a “sanctuary state.” Specifically, the Trust Act would:
Allow Maryland authorities to release individuals, despite “detainer requests” from the Feds on immigration violations.
Bar Maryland and local law enforcement from making immigration status inquiries, or assisting ICE or DHS with immigration enforcement.
Prevent Maryland from assisting with or creating a database for civil immigration enforcement.
Prohibit Maryland from having a religious-based registry.
Institute policies to ensure accessibility of all people to schools, hospitals and courthouses.
I would urge Greens to support the passage of the Maryland Trust Act. It contains important provisions that will help prevent deportations and allow people to feel safer. It is not clear how Maryland would “institute policies” to provide protection from the Feds at schools, hospitals and courthouses, but nonetheless, it remains a bold step in the right direction. We should join with others to support the Trust Act.
Even with the passage of the Trust Act, our communities would still be under threat. Therefore, do not stop there.
RALLY, DEMONSTRATE, MARCH
Give VOICE to the Green Party positions on immigration.
SPEAK LOUDLY in defense of immigrant communities.
RESIST, RESIST.
It is my hope that Greens across the U.S. will speak loudly on immigration, and will participate actively in the defense of our undocumented fellow Americans.
Diversity is strength. Immigrants are who we are. Defend America from the Trump Agenda. Show America what it means to BE GREEN on immigration in the era of Trump.
Thank you for your support.
Vince Tola
Baltimore Green Party
Baltimore Green Party Endorsement of SB 712-Support HBCUs
HBCUs are an integral part of building excellent colleges that serve all the people of Maryland
It is time for the state of Maryland to correct the decades-long error of significantly underfunding and mistreating Maryland’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) including Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Morgan State University, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
In 2013 US. District Court Judge Catherine C. Black found in The Coalition for Equity and Excellence in Maryland Higher Education v. Maryland Higher Education Commission that the Maryland Higher Education Commission had allowed traditionally white colleges to unfairly duplicate the popular and unique academic programs of HBCUs without any educational justification. At the same time, Maryland systematically underfunded HBCUs, essentially starving them and making it impossible for HBCUs to compete with the predominantly white colleges.
Maryland’s actions have ensured a segregated, dual educational system that is racially discriminatory and that continues a system established during the era of segregation. The result of Maryland’s actions is illegal discrimination against black students that undermines not only HBCUs but the predominantly African American communities living where these schools are located.
The Baltimore Green Party endorses SB 712, which will begin to correct the long-term racially unfair actions of Maryland by providing supplemental financial assistance to HBCUs to ensure they are comparable and competitive with the majority white four-year public institutions in Maryland. The state needs to give HBCUs the resources they require to succeed because doing so is in the best interests of all students in Maryland.
Maryland must also end unnecessary program duplication that they have put in place and return important courses of study to the HBCUs that they excelled in. This is how higher education has been desegregated across the country and must be part of the solution in Maryland. Maryland needs to put into practice the truth that HBCUs are an integral part of building excellent colleges that serve all people of Maryland. Rather than diminishing HBCUs, it is time for Maryland to advance them.
The state should also accept the decision of the federal court in this more than decade-old litigation and not appeal the decision. It is time to put this lengthy litigation, which began in 2006, behind us by the state correcting the serious and egregious racially discriminatory policies. It took Maryland two years to merely propose a settlement and the judge found that proposal to be inadequate. Now it is time to stop delaying and to put in place integrated and complementary programs along with adequate funding to correct Maryland’s historic discrimination. This should be seen as an opportunity for the state of Maryland to build a public university system that better serves all Maryland residents.
Stand Up For Baltimore Schools-Get Informed and Involved
Baltimore City Schools face a catastrophic $130 million budget shortfall.If City Schools have to absorb this shortfall it will radically change education in our city. If nothing is done about this we will see hundreds of teachers and other school based staff lose their jobs, larger class sizes, more unscheduled school closings, and drastic cuts to the extracurricular and enrichment services that make students come to school.
This problem is quickly developing and will need a lot of attention between now and this spring when the final FY2018 Budget will be approved.
To avoid this pending catastrophe, we must be informed and involved.
There is a School Board meeting Tuesday February 14th, at 6:00 PM. It will occur in the 1st Floor Boardroom of the Baltimore City School Headquarters: 200 E. North Ave.
The agenda includes information about the FY 2018 Budget, which will likely include discussion of the cuts that are proposed and the strategy the school system proposes for avoiding them.
Before the public School Board meeting there will be a rally led by the Baltimore Teachers Union, show up at 5:00 and stand in solidarity!
Take the fight to Annapolis on February 23rd, when the Baltimore Education Coalition hosts a rally
The Baltimore Green Party will be following this issue and will continue to provide updates.
Useful Links:
Baltimore City Schools Budget Website
Final Report of the Study of Adequacy of Funding for Education in Maryland
Video of Baltimore City Council Education and Youth Committee
On Resisting the Trump Agenda
Vincent S. Tola, Treasurer, Baltimore Green Party
Several weeks into the Trump presidency, a majority of Americans are reeling from the shock of the new administration and the initial stages of its regressive agenda that will bring harm to many.
We have seen:
Cabinet nominees that will undermine and roll back the clock on civil rights, voting rights, environmental protection, women's health and public education.
The restart of the racist, imperialistic DAPL pipeline.
A silencing of scientific voices within the government.
A Supreme Court nominee that will seek to take away a woman's right to make decisions about her own body.
The elevation of white nationalism within the top tiers of the federal government.
The threat of millions of people losing health insurance, with no alternate plan in place.
The stated intention to dismantle regulations of Wall Street, based on the complaints of a few of Trump's “friends.”
Open hostility toward an independent press and an independent judiciary.
A wreckless attempt to ban immigration from a set of majority-Muslim nations. The continued demonization of immigrants, refugees and Islam.
Continued claims on “building a wall” with Mexico.
Relations with allies thrown into turmoil.
An escalation of hostility toward Iran.
A raid resulting in the death of Yemeni civilians (children and women), and an American soldier, labeled as “a success.”
… And let's not forget that the nuclear codes are now being held by an individual with the temperament of a middle school bully.
These are scary and difficult times.
I would claim complete opposition to the Trump administration, but there has been one significant victory for working people. That is, the death of the T.P.P. This trade deal would have dealt yet another blow to U.S. service and manufacturing industries by exporting and outsourcing more jobs overseas, while degrading the environment and protections for consumers and workers. It is a crucial victory that must not be understated. Score exactly ONE point for Trump (and minus NINETY-NINE).
It is also significant that the Trump administration seeks to open up a renegotiation of the NAFTA agreement. This is has potential benefits, but forgive me if I don't hold much hope that this regressive, racist administration will bring about positive results.
Therefore, in these times, resistance is paramount.
We, in the Green Party, have stood and will continue to stand with those resisting Trump and his dangerous agenda. In these times, we need to speak loudly and forcefully against Trump's immigration ban, his demonization of refugees and of Islam, his desecration of native lands, his denial of climate science, his collusion with Wall Street, his attacks on women and reproductive health, his anti-immigrant agenda, and his likely assaults on the poor and communities of color. We must become more organized in our resistance and louder in our speech. We will work with and stand in solidarity with those who are opposing this horrendous agenda.
And as we do this, we in the Green Party need to articulate a positive agenda. It's not enough to resist Trump, and get back to the Obama days of massive deportations. Obama deported the undocumented at a higher rate than George W. Bush. We need to demilitarize our borders and respect human rights. The Green Party would give legal status to undocumented high school graduates and allow them to attend colleges an universities on an equal basis. We seek permanent border passes between Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. This would reduce exploitation by coyotes and increase the tax base of all three nations. We would seek to renegotiation trade deals in ways that benefit workers, farmers and peasants, reducing the economic push factor of immigration. Regional cooperation is the solution to immigration.
On all the fronts that we oppose Trump, we have better solutions than the Democratic Party's status quo. We have a better vision. We need to articulate it well. Furthermore, we need to continue to build on the local level, and get involved in municipal and state-level policy. There we can have the greatest impact.
So, Green Party, be UNRELENTING in your resistance to the Trump agenda. Join with others who are in this fight. But don't stop there. Articulate the Green Party's vision. Work to implement it locally, but maintain a global perspective. Champion the Green Party's values and solutions. They are the right path for communities throughout the Americas and for the world.
Baltimore Green Party Statement on Election Integrity
The Baltimore Green Party believes every vote should be counted. Accuracy of the final tally, however, is only one of many deficiencies in US elections.
The Green Party is required to gather tens of thousands of signatures every four years in order to stay on the ballot, while the two corporate-funded parties automatically qualify.
Greens are not allowed to vote in non-partisan judicial primaries in Maryland, which are restricted to registered Democrats and Republicans.
Greens have to pay for their own primary, unlike the two corporate-funded parties whose primaries are paid for by taxpayers.
Green Party candidates are often excluded from forums and debates and the media gives disproportionate free coverage to the two corporate-funded parties.
Voters do not get to hear Green Party views because of these obstacles and often do not know alternatives exist and have candidates on the ballot. We are also mindful that under Governor Martin O’Malley in Maryland, both Democrats and Republicans disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of our neighbors through zero tolerance policing, the failed war on drugs, and mass incarceration.
The Baltimore Green Party is energized by the inspiring activism that lead to their re-enfranchisement this year. And the BGP is honored to have won the votes of returning citizens, immigrants, union members, public housing residents, elders, young people, and many more who have been taken for granted by the Democratic machine in Baltimore.
Regardless of what happens with the recounts in Pennsylvania and the Midwest, we will continue building in all Baltimore neighborhoods and communities resisting the oppressive policies favored by both Clinton and Trump. We stand united with the Baltimore organizations and organizers who are redoubling their commitments to social justice regardless of which of the corporate-funded candidates becomes president. If you are doing the work, know that you have an ally in the Baltimore Green Party.
CASA in Action Endorses Ian Schlakman (G) for Baltimore City Council
The Maryland Green Party (MGP) and Baltimore Green Party (BGP) are proud to announce CASA in Action’s endorsement of Ian Schlakman for Baltimore City Council District 12. CASA in Action is a 501(c)4 organization that engages in educational, legislative, and political activities in support of immigrants. This endorsement demonstrates the viability not only of the Schlakman campaign, but the growing viability of the Green Party as an alternative to the Democratic and Republican policies of mass deportation, mass incarceration, border walls, and destabilization of Latin American countries. It is the first time CASA in Action has endorsed a Green Party Candidate.
According to CASA in Action leadership, Schlakman earned this endorsement “in the trenches of the Fight for 15 movement” and because of the role of immigrants and advocates in writing his progressive platform. Nationally, the Green Party calls for an end to the border militarization initiated by President Bill Clinton, continued by Pres. George W. Bush, and accelerated by Pres. Barack Obama, who has deported over 200,000 immigrants, more than any other president in United States history. The Maryland Green Party is in the vanguard of the call for a new way forward, as presented in a White Paper on Latin American Foreign Policy recently published by the Council on Hemispheric Relations. (The Slate includes Dr. Margaret Flowers for Senate, and Nnabu Eze (MD-3), Kamesha Clark (MD-4), Nancy Wallace (MD-5), George Gluck (MD-6), and Myles Hoenig (MD-7) for House of Representatives.) The White Paper identifies U.S. militarism and intervention as root causes of forced migration. The MGP is pushing for an end to the U.S. foreign and trade policies that force people from their homes and the immigration and policing policies that criminalize them when they arrive. Immigrants are welcome here!
Join Ajamu Baraka and Jill Stein for an Exciting week in Baltimore
Today starts and exciting week for the Baltimore Green Party, leading up to the Green Party and Rally Friday night.
Today, Green Party Vice Presidential Candidate Ajamu Baraka will be on the Marc Steiner Show on WEAA from 10:00-1045 AM. You can listen live at 88.9 or online at http://weaa.org/.
Later in the Day Ajamu Baraka will join Green Party Candidates Joshua Harris(Baltimore Mayor), Dr. Margaret Flowers (United States Senate) and Ian Schlakman(Baltimore City Council 12th District)a for Speak-out and Sleep out focused on issues of Homeless ,housing and poverty. (Download the Flyer Here)
Tomorrow, evening at Morgan State University Baraka will Join Dr. Jared Ball for a conversation with students about youth, politics, race and political power.
Friday of this week Baraka, will join Jill Stein and a full slate of speakers, activists and artists for "The Green Party!" a rally and party at the Downtown Cultural Arts Center at 6:30 PM.(RSVP today so we can have a good count)
Reflections on the Past Two Weeks
The past two weeks have exposed a lot of things for this country. The Republican Party has espoused its hateful rhetoric to cheers. The Republican Party has used fearmongering and hateful rhetoric - nothing new - to once again prop up candidacies that threaten democracy and freedom. However, the Democratic Party, as a party of short-term memory and half-truths, can’t meet the needs of the people, nor defend them. In this message, I want to help define what’s real and what’s true; a piece of the conversation that Baltimore, if not most of us, have been missing for a long time.
In a place of lies, we must be the truthful. The Democratic Party is not a party for the working class or the marginalized. The Democratic Party is not a party of nonviolence. When Bill Clinton cut welfare programs via the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, many Americans suffered, while another class of Americans were elevated. When former Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor Martin O’Malley incarcerated a large population of Baltimoreans, he destroyed communities of people who really just want to live and exist like the rest of us. While Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake gavels in the DNC she is fast tracking a 535 million dollar TIF that will exacerbate the inequity that is destroying our city, again elevating one class of citizens over another.
These leaders are not Republicans; however, the same state-administered injustices foster under them. This is their standard. Injustice is bipartisan.
The Democratic Party is not a party of social justice. Protest is admonished and civil disobedience is met with a Democrat-led militarized police system. You do have a few outliers - a few of them personal inspirations to me, like Nina Turner and Mary L Washington, the latter a state delegate in Maryland. But these leaders stand on the fringe making the best of they can in a counter-progressive party. Their ideas and vision may better fit the Green Party.
It is clear now that we need a more radical worldview; we need a broader, greater political imagination. We need to remember what it means to love progress, to the love planet, and to love people. When Maryland Green Party Senatorial Candidate Margaret Flowers protests alongside my friends in solidarity for #AFROMATION, it shows that we are not alone. When our mayoral candidate speaks power to justice, truth, and green jobs, he’s saying that our communities have value beyond a market or revenue stream. This is what real hope looks like - solidarity. This is what real change looks like.
So, what does that mean for us? When the Green Party hosts its convention next week, it will be humble. It will be small. We admit this. We have internal work to do. We have well-deserved criticisms. The left does have to do better with the race conversation. The left does have to learn how to engage. We know this.
Here in Baltimore, we have a budding movement where the people are sick of the status quo. We have a full slate of candidates, from Senate, to Mayor, to City Council. We are building this movement with everyday people like you. Greens are standing up for justice and are standing up for the people - at all intersections! Where some people have dropped the ball, it's important we carry the movement forward - with our voices, with our hands, with our dollars - wherever and however we can.
I, a 21 year old Black boy from South Carolina, am so inspired by the people I’ve been able to interact with. I am inspired by the actions. I am inspired by the possibility of what could be.
If you’re new here, welcome. If you’ve been with us, thank you. I’m excited for what we build. I’m excited for this opportunity to grow with you.
With radiant love,
Jeremy Collins
Co-Chair of the Baltimore Green Party
The BGP Take The Streets
The Baltimore Greens took the streets the past few weeks appearing at several events across the city. Andy Ellis and Vince Tola, Co-Chair and Treasurer, respectively, along with some volunteers helped pass out literature.
Andreas “Spilly” Spiliadis, candidate for the 3rd District, attended a baseball game out near Morgan State University on Argonne. Spilly was also at Artscape. Spilly's campaign using seeds rather than signs has been catching attention across the city.
Twelfth District City Council Candidate Ian Schlakman has been doorknocking in his district and fighting for big issues like the $15 minimum wage. Very recently, he’s supported local bar Liam Flynn’s Ale House on North Avenue after controversial leasing arrangement evicted the owners. Schlakman has also helped citizens of the Pleasant View Gardens Public Housing Project through its privatization.
Joshua Harris, candidate for Mayor, made several appearances across the city from Artscape in Mount Royal to the 7th Annual Baltimore Road Race in Park Heights. Harris has also made several media appearances the past couple of weeks, speaking to HBCU Digest's Jarrett Carter about Baltimore, divestment, and a better future.
"We are running a true grassroots campaign going from door-to-door, walking on the soles of my shoes and reaching voters directly." Harris says.
US Senatorial Candidate Margaret Flowers has been throughout the city and the state. On July 7, she and several others protested at Elijah Cumming's office against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Just a day later, she, Myles Hoenig, and Jeremy Collins, spoke at the rally downtown to protest the murder of Philando Castille and Alton Sterling. She was also with Joshua Harris at the Road Race in park Heights and protested in the #AFROMATION action last Saturday on I-83, where organizers and activists rallied for justice and accountability in Baltimore City policing.
Leadership of the Baltimore Greens are connecting with people all over the city representing what justice, democracy, and the power of the people looks like. We encourage Greens and non-Greens alike to participate in transformative democracy. Show your support by volunteering/donating with the party and/or individual campaigns.
You Can Help Make Baltimore Green
For a recurring donation of $15 Per month to the Baltimore Green Party, you can sustain our best opportunity yet to convince Baltimore City to#VoteGreen in 2016.
The Baltimore Green Party is preparing for a “Green Summer.”We believe that if we tell Baltimore about the choice to #VoteGreen they will. We are organizing for festivals and farmer's markets, we are producing new literature and materials, and from our office we are hosting a broad coalition of community members and grassroots organizations to formulate a future looking solution based 21st century urban agenda
We don’t take corporate or PAC money like our Democrat and Republican opponents, but we do need money to compete with them. Your sustaining monthly donation of $15 today will help us in our goal to reach 100,000 voters this summer. Green values, Green solutions and Green candidates can transform this city.
We have a great opportunity, but we we can’t do it without you.
Andy Ellis
Co-Chair
Baltimore Green Party