Political, Peace and Social Concerns Organizations Resources

[Arthur Kegerreis]

This list is far from complete. I invite you to add additional resources that you recommend in a reply below.

QUAKER ORGANIZATIONS:

FCNL
https://www.fcnl.org/
The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) is a lobbying organization in the public interest founded in 1943 by members of the Religious Society of Friends. FCNL works for social and economic justice, peace, stewardship of the environment, and good government in the United States.[2]
FCNL has a General Committee of about 220 Quakers from across the United States. FCNL advocates on several issues that are extensions of the Quaker testimonies of peace, equality, simplicity, and integrity.[3]
FCNL is a member of Win Without War and Alliance for Peacebuilding, among other working groups and coalitions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friends_C ... egislation
------------------------
FCLCA
http://www.fclca.org/
The Friends Committee on Legislation of California (FCLCA), guided by Quaker values, advocates for California state laws that are just, compassionate and respectful of the inherent worth of every person.
------------------------
QUIT Quaker Initiative to End Torture
http://www.quit-torture-now.org/
The Quaker Initiative to End Torture is a spiritual work to end the worst that humans do to one another. We hope the information and resources here will help you to join the efforts of many to end torture as a practice, a tradition, and a policy of governments. 
http://www.quit-torture-now.org

Taxi to the Dark Side
Movie site for this documentary on torture, recommended by QUIT. 




NON QUAKER ORGANIZATIONS:

Political:
Senators:
CALIFORNIA:
List of Pasadena Elected Officials and Contact info:
http://discoveringpasadena.com/elected-officials

List of Los Angeles Elected Officials:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_e ... os_Angeles

- Dianne Feinstein (D): (415) 393-0707
Email: http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/ ... /e-mail-me

- Kamala Harris (D): (916) 448-2787
Email: https://www.harris.senate.gov/content/contact-senator

- Anthony Portantino
http://sd25.senate.ca.gov/contact
Capitol Office
State Capitol, Room 5097
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4025
Fax: (916) 651-4925

Glendale District Office
1000 North Central Avenue, Suite 240
Glendale, CA 91202
Phone: (818) 409-0400
Fax: (818) 409-1256

Satellite Office
201 East Bonita Ave
San Dimas, CA 91773
Phone: (909) 599-7351
Fax: (909) 599-7692

CALIFORNIA DC OFFICES:
- Dianne Feinstein (D): (202) 224-3841
- Kamala Harris (D): (202) 224-3553

Resource to find your legislative representatives:
http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/
------------------------
Swing Left
https://swingleft.org/

Control of the House in 2018 will be decided by a handful of Swing Districts, places where the last election was decided by a thin margin. Find your closest Swing District and join its team to learn about actionable opportunities to support progressives—and defeat Republicans—in that district, no matter where you live. We can stop Trump and the GOP agenda by working together NOW.
------------------------
Countable
https://www.countable.us/

A mobile phone app to connect you with your congressional representatives and keep you up to date on the issues they vote on in simple English, with easy summaries of their voting records.

https://www.wired.com/2014/05/countable/
------------------------
ACLU
Southern CA:
https://www.aclusocal.org/
National:
https://www.aclu.org/
https://twitter.com/ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization[5][6] whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, lobbying, and community empowerment. Founded in 1920, the ACLU has over 500,000 members and an annual budget of over $100 million. Local affiliates of the ACLU are active in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The ACLU provides legal assistance in cases when it considers civil liberties to be at risk. Legal support from the ACLU can take the form of direct legal representation or preparation of amicus curiae briefs expressing legal arguments when another law firm is already providing representation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_ ... ties_Union
------------------------
Southern Poverty Law Center:
https://www.splcenter.org/
SPLC Teaching Tolerance:
http://www.tolerance.org/

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. It is noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups, its classification of hate groups and other extremist organizations, its legal representation for victims of hate groups, and its educational programs that promote tolerance.[2][3][4] The SPLC's classification and listing of hate groups -- organizations that in its opinion "attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics"[5] – and its labeling of certain people as extremists, have been the source of some controversy.[6][7]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_ ... Law_Center
------------------------
Human Rights Watch
https://www.hrw.org/
https://twitter.com/hrw
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an American-founded international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. HRW headquarters are in New York City with offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Washington, D.C., and Zurich.[1]
------------------------
Amnesty International
http://www.amnestyusa.org/
https://twitter.com/amnestyusa

Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty and AI) is a non-governmental organisation focused on human rights with over 7 million members and supporters around the world. The stated objective of the organisation is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesty_International
------------------------
MoveOn
http://MoveOn.org 

MoveOn is an American progressive public policy advocacy group and political action committee. Formed in 1998 in response to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton by the U.S. House of Representatives, MoveOn.org has raised millions of dollars for candidates it identifies as "progressives" in the United States. It also runs a petition Website similar to Change.org.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MoveOn.org
------------------------
Change.org
"https://www.change.org/
"The world's platform for change." 
Petition generator website

Change.org is a petition website operated by Change.org, Inc., an American certified B corporation[1] which claims to have over 100 million users and hosts sponsored campaigns for organizations.

Corporations including Virgin America, and organizations such as Amnesty International and the Humane Society, pay the site to host and promote their petitions. Change.org's stated mission is to "empower people everywhere to create the change they want to see." Popular topics of Change.org petitions are economic and criminal justice, human rights, education, environmental protection, animals rights, health, and sustainable food.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change.org
------------------------
350
https://350.org/

International Climate Change Advocacy Work
"The number 350 means climate safety: we must reduce the CO2 in the atmosphere from >400 parts per million to below 350."

350 is building a global grassroots climate movement that can hold our leaders accountable to the realities of science and the principles of justice.

That movement is rising from the bottom up all over the world, and is uniting to create the solutions that will ensure a better future for all. Our online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions bring together a global network active in over 188 countries. 
------------------------
Daily Kos
http://www.dailykos.com/
Daily Kos /ˈkoʊs/ is an outlet for American political blogging.[2][3][4][5] It functions as a discussion forum and group blog for a variety of netroots activists whose efforts are primarily directed toward influencing and strengthening progressive policies and candidates. Additionally, the site features a participatory political encyclopedia ("DKosopedia"), glossaries, and other content.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Kos
------------------------
Womens March
https://www.womensmarch.com/
The Women's March[9][10][11] (also called the Women's March Movement,[12] or the Women's Marches,[13] or the Women's March on Washington and its Sister Marches[14] or solidarity marches[15]) was a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, in support of women's rights and other causes including immigration reform, health care reform, protection of the natural environment, LGBTQ rights, racial justice, freedom of religion,[16] and workers' rights. The rallies were aimed at Donald Trump, immediately following his inauguration as President of the United States, due to statements and positions of his regarded by some as misogynistic or in other ways reprehensible.[9][17] It it the largest to date in a series of protests against Trump, and the largest one-day protest in U.S. history.[18][19]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Women's_March
------------------------
Occupy Movement
The Occupy movement is an international socio-political movement against social inequality and lack of "real democracy" around the world, its primary goal being to advance social and economic justice and new forms of democracy. The movement has many different scopes; local groups often have different focuses, but among the movement's prime concerns are how large corporations (and the global financial system) control the world in a way that disproportionately benefits a minority, undermines democracy, and is unstable.[8][9][10][11] It is part of what Manfred Steger calls the "global justice movement".[12]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_movement

The original Occupy Movement:
http://occupywallst.org/

http://www.occupy.com/

Occupy Los Angeles:
http://occupyla.org/
------------------------
Black Lives Matter
http://blacklivesmatter.com/

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is an international activist movement, originating in the African-American community, that campaigns against violence and systemic racism toward black people. BLM regularly holds protests against police killings of black people and broader issues of racial profiling, police brutality, and perceived racial inequality in the United States criminal justice system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter
------------------------
Dakota Access Pipeline Protests - Standing Rock

The Dakota Access Pipeline protests, also known by the hashtag #NoDAPL, are grassroots movements that began in early 2016 in reaction to the approved construction of Energy Transfer Partners' Dakota Access Pipeline in the northern United States. The pipeline was projected to run from the Bakken oil fields in western North Dakota to southern Illinois, crossing beneath the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, as well as under part of Lake Oahe near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Many in the Standing Rock tribe consider the pipeline and its intended crossing of the Missouri River to constitute a threat to the region's clean water and to ancient burial grounds. In April, Standing Rock Sioux elder LaDonna Brave Bull Allard established a camp as a center for cultural preservation and spiritual resistance to the pipeline; over the summer the camp grew to thousands of people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_Ac ... e_protests
------------------------
The White Helmets in Syria:
https://www.whitehelmets.org/en
https://thesyriacampaign.org/

The White Helmets, officially known as Syria Civil Defence (SCD; Arabic: الدفاع المدني السوري‎‎), is a volunteer civil defense organisation that currently operates in parts of rebel-controlled Syria.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Hel ... _Civil_War)
------------------------
Corporate Accountability International:
http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/

Corporate Accountability International (formerly INFACT) is a non-profit organization, founded in 1977. Their campaign headquarters are in Boston, Massachusetts and they have offices in Oakland, California, Seattle, Washington, and Bogotá, Colombia. Currently, their most prominent campaign is Think Outside the Bottle.

Since 1977 Corporate Accountability International has waged a number of high-profile campaigns to protect public health, the environment and democracy from abuse by transnational corporations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate ... ernational

Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice
https://www.cluejustice.org/
464 Lucas Avenue, Suite 202
Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 481-3740

Veterans for Peace
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/
@veteransforpeace

An organization of military veterans and allies dedicated to exposing the true costs of war and militarism. Peace At Home, Peace Abroad!

We, having dutifully served our nation, do hereby affirm our greater responsibility to serve the cause of world peace. To this end we will work, with others

To increase public awareness of the costs of war
To restrain our government from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations
To end the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons
To seek justice for veterans and victims of war
To abolish war as an instrument of national policy.
To achieve these goals, members of Veterans For Peace pledge to use non-violent means and to maintain an organization that is both democratic and open with the understanding that all members are trusted to act in the best interests of the group for the larger purpose of world peace.

The Center for Nonviolent Communication


Metta Center for Nonviolence
Metta Center for Nonviolence is a 501(c)3 organization that provides educational resources on the safe and effective use of nonviolence, with the recognition that it’s not about putting the right person in power but awakening the right kind of power in people. We advance a higher image of humankind while empowering people to explore the question: How does nonviolence work, and how can I actively contribute to a happier, more peaceful society?


International Center on Nonviolent Conflict
Our Work: Civil resistance movements—featuring a wide range of nonviolent tactics such as strikes, boycotts, mass demonstrations, acts of noncooperation, civil disobedience, and other actions—are capturing the world’s attention as never before.

The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC) focuses on how these movements struggle effectively and win. Our mission is educational. We develop and share knowledge and educational resources related to civil resistance with interested recipients throughout the world. This includes citizens and activists, scholars, educators, nongovernmental organizations, media professionals, and members of the policy community.

We are a private operating foundation that runs a wide range of programs and also provides limited grant funding. 
We:
• organize educational events that are attended by diverse audiences, including activists, scholars, members of NGOs, 
policy professionals, and journalists
• hold university seminars and practitioner workshops
• support cutting edge social science research and publishing
• support the development of educational materials and resources for activists, scholars, members of NGOs and the 
policy community, and journalists
• translate educational materials on civil resistance into diverse languages
• provide small grants for practitioners and scholars
• curate and highlight news about civil resistance around the world
• connect people with educational resources and each other to help them in their work



Films About NonViolence:


BayNVC is home to a number of projects and groups working under the same umbrella to apply and promote the principles and practices of Nonviolent Communication. Most of these are operated and run by BayNVC staff and trainers and include private sessions, classes, organizational services, retreats, and a variety of projects designed for social transformation. In addition, BayNVC provides fiscal sponsorship and financial services to other relevant projects by request.


George Lakey on YouTube:
A collection of his lectures on non-violent activism and just economies:

His Pendle Hill Pamphlet, "Nonviolent Action: How it works"


War Resisters' International (WRI) 
An international anti-war organization with members and affiliates in over thirty countries. Its headquarters are in London, UK.

Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns: second edition online and pdf download:

Becoming a Citizen Activist: Stories, Strategies, and Advice for Changing Our World

The New Jim Crow

[Arthur Kegerreis]

Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church
Our neighbors on Orange Grove next to the Gamble House.
Some of their related programs are detailed on these pages:



Unitarian Universalist Social Change and Political Organizations:
Some Unitarian Universalist Organizations that support some of the same issues FCNL, FCLCA, and Quaker Earthcare Witness address:

UUSC
CHALLENGING INJUSTICE, ADVANCING HUMAN RIGHTS
The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) is a nonsectarian human rights organization powered by grassroots collaboration. We work anywhere rights are threatened – by natural disasters, armed conflicts, genocide, forced migration, and systematic injustice.


UUMFE
Connecting and inspiring an active community of UUs for environmental justice, spiritual renewal, and shared reverence for our Earth home.

Vision
We envision a world in which reverence, gratitude, and care for the living Earth are central to the lives of all people. Our purpose is to inspire, facilitate, and support personal, congregational, and denominational practices that honor and sustain the Earth and all beings. We affirm and promote the seven principles of the UUA, including: "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part." Although the UU Ministry for Earth has close ties to the UUA, it is a separate not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization with an independent Board of Directors.


Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of California
(This organization seems much like the Quaker's FCLCA.) 
We aim to make the world more just by using the powerful network of UUs in California. By 2018, we aim to achieve the following:
- California Unitarian Universalists have access to and participate in statewide justice education, advocacy, and witness that deepens their faith and changes life for the better in California.
- California Unitarian Universalist justice leaders are trained, effective, inspiring and connected.
- California Unitarian Universalist congregations utilize UUJM to strengthen their justice ministries.
- California policy-makers and justice leaders value UUJM as a visible and credible partner in advancing justice in California.
The Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of California advances justice in our state by cultivating and connecting leaders and communities, and by empowering the public voice of those who share UU values and principles.

We seek to develop the skills of civic engagement that we may educate, organize, and advocate for public policies that:
- uphold the worth and dignity of every person
- further justice, equity, and compassion in human relations
- ensure use of the democratic process
- protect religious freedom
- promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence
Charitable activity is a familiar and important part of a religious life. However, when poverty, environmental degradation, inequitable access to health care, and higher education are part of the structures of society, rather than unforeseen exceptions, then we know that charity is not enough. Our faith calls us to change policies and structures that inhibit human development, harm the environment, and destroy communities. We are called to educate and organize for justice.

[Arthur Kegerreis]

A excellent collection of 
Sanctuary-related resources and links from AFSC:


Calls for Spirited Action (open AFSC conference calls with Meeting Reps)
https://www.afsc.org/calls-spirited-action

Calls for Spirited Action Archives
https://www.afsc.org/calls-spirited-action-archives

Call for Spirited Action: #SanctuaryEverywhere
https://www.afsc.org/audio/call-spirite ... everywhere

Call for Spirited Action: Faith-based immigrant justice
https://www.afsc.org/audio/call-spirite ... nt-justice

Call for Spirited Action: Love knows no borders
https://www.afsc.org/audio/call-spirite ... no-borders

Pedro Rios
http://immigrantsandiego.org/

FAQ about The Bridge Act:


"Mixed Messages" - a report from AFSC on Islamophobia and violent extremism in the media:


Two twitter hashtags relating to Sanctuary Issues:
#SantuaryEverywhere

#HereToStay

------------------------------
Other organizations:

KIND
Kids In Need of Defense
We protect children alone
KIND staff and our pro bono attorney partners at law firms, corporations, and law schools nationwide represent unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children in their deportation proceedings. Together, we ensure that no child stands in court alone.

KIND serves as the leading organization for the protection of children who enter the U.S. immigration system alone and strives to ensure that no such child appears in immigration court without representation. We achieve fundamental fairness through high-quality legal representation and by advancing the child’s best interests, safety, and well-being.


The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) was founded in 1986. CHIRLA is a California leader with national impact made of diverse immigrant families and individuals who act as agents of social change to achieve a world with freedom of mobility, full human rights, and true participatory democracy. CHIRLA’s mission is to achieve a just society fully inclusive of immigrants. CHIRLA organizes and serves individuals, institutions and coalitions to build power, transform public opinion, and change policies to achieve full human, civil and labor rights. Guided by the power, love, and vision of our community, CHIRLA embraces and drives progressive social change. CHIRLA was formed in response to the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 which made hiring undocumented workers illegal, thus creating a situation ripe for worker exploitation and abuse which have increased since that time. 


SANCTUARY MOVEMENT​
A growing movement of immigrant and over 400 faith communities doing what Congress and the Administration refuse to do: protect and stand with immigrants facing deportation.


INTERFAITH MOVEMENT FOR IMMIGRANT JUSTICE
We are a coalition of individuals, faith leaders and diverse faith communities called by our conscience to respond actively and publicly to the suffering of our immigrant brothers and sisters in the U.S. Through advocacy and outreach, we educate the community about the injustices current immigration policies inflict on the entire community and we provide real opportunities to take action for change. Just as we open our hearts to provide welcome and accompaniment to people facing persecution and oppression, we open our doors to offer Sanctuary for immigrants faced with family separation.
http://imirj.org/
(Contains links to several other relevant organizations)

Matthew 25 Movement



DRUM (Desis Rising Up and Moving)
http://www.drumnyc.org/
DRUM – South Asian Organizing Center (formerly Desis Rising Up and Moving) is a multigenerational, membership led organization of low-wage South Asian immigrant workers and youth in New York City.

Founded in 2000, DRUM has mobilized and built the leadership of thousands of low-income, South Asian immigrants to lead social and policy change that impacts their own lives- from immigrant rights to education reform, civil rights, and worker’s justice. 

Our organizing model involves five core elements:

Base building- Daily outreach in schools, workplaces, communities

Leadership Development- Monthly workshops, trainings, and Leadership Institutes to build the skills of our members in policy change campaigns and social justice issues.

Policy Campaigns- Running short and long term campaigns to reform policies at the city, state, federal, and international levels on issues ranging from immigration, civil rights, education, and labor rights.

Alliance Building- Forging collaborations with diverse communities and sectors to build strong social justice movements for change.

Institution Building- Building democratic and mass participatory spaces for people otherwise marginalized from shaping public policy.

Our long-term vision is to build the power of immigrant workers in the U.S in unity with all workers and communities for human rights. We see our movements for justice in the U.S. rooted in working in solidarity with people of the Global South for just global trade, economic, and foreign policies. Our cornerstone is building strong cross-community alliances across the U.S. and globe to amplify progressive movements- with African Americans, Latinos, Indigenous communities, Arab and Middle Eastern communities, labor, youth, civil rights, and Global South movements from Egypt, to South Asia, to Latin America.

Their site has a number of resources for immigrant rights education and mobilization.

The New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City
http://www.newsanctuarynyc.org/

The New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City is an interfaith network of congregations, organizations, and individuals, standing publicly in solidarity with families and communities resisting detention and deportation in order to stay together. We recognize that unjust global and systemic economic relationships and racism form the basis of the injustices that affect immigrants. We seek reform of United States immigration laws to promote fairness, social and economic justice. 

They have a page of "Allies and Resources" which offers the following links:
http://unitedwedream.org/

http://www.latinorebels.com/

https://migramap.latinorebels.com/

http://www.undocumedia.org/

NY Immigration Coalition
http://thenyic.org/

http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/

https://www.sanctuaryforfamilies.org/

http://www.immdefense.org/

http://www.africanservices.org/
------------------------
Adam Schiff's Feb. 24, 2017 town hall conversation at Glendale Community College presented speakers from the following organizations: 

International Rescue Committee (IRC) Los Angeles
Martin Zogg, Exec. Director
https://www.rescue.org/united-states/los-angeles-ca

Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
Seema Ahmad, Chair of Board of Directors
http://www.mpac.org/

Jewish Family Services of San Diego
Refugee and Immigration Services director Ms. Etleva Bejko
affiliate of Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
http://www.jfssd.org/
https://www.hias.org/

Hector Villagra, Exec. Director
ACLU of SoCA
https://www.aclusocal.org

[Arthur Kegerreis]

Lynnette offered the following resources from the PYM Special interest group: 

Endisolation
CIVIC: Ending the isolation of men and women in U.S. immigration detention
CIVIC is the national immigration detention visitation network, which is working to end U.S. immigration detention by monitoring human rights abuses, elevating stories, building community-based alternatives to detention, and advocating for system change.

A group that coordinates visitation (and also pen pals) to detained immigrants. They can help you get in touch with folks involved with visiting Adelanto detention center locally: 


East Bay Sanctuary Covenant
A Board of Immigration Appeals Recognized Non-Profit Organization
East bay group that gave a talk at the PYM interest group.
Provides legal and other support for refugees in the Bay Area.


Progressive Action for Refugee Children
Facebook group of people, mostly in Ventura, who have been active around this concern.

[Arthur Kegerreis]

Rev. Christina Shu at Neighborhood UU Church shared some organizations she recommended in a recent sermon there. 

https://www.borderlinks.org/

https://derechoshumanosaz.net/coalition-work/end-streamline-coalition/

https://endstreamline.org/

http://forms.nomoredeaths.org/en/

https://www.youtube.com/user/NoMoreDeathsArizona

https://mariposassinfronteras.org/