Social Justice Action Center

July 14th!!! Double feature benefiting the @thepeoplesstorepdx 6pm at the Social Justice Action Center! 1. “Criminal Queers,” visualizes a radical trans/queer struggle against the prison industrial complex and toward a world without walls. 2. “Homotopia,” chronicles a group of radical queer’s dedicated to exposing the trouble with gay marriage, dismantling the State, undoing Empire, while looking totally fierce. Masks required + provided Tickets are a sliding scale $10-$20 - 100% of the funds will go to providing survival supplies to unhoused people in Portland. SJAC: 400 SE 12th Ave, Portland, OR 97214 #portland #portlandfilms #thepeoplesstore

SJAC Event! Tue May 14th doors: 5pm, start: 6 After nearly twelve years, despite a relentless war of aggression waged by Turkey and ISIS, the Kurdish freedom movement, alongside the other diverse peoples of North-East Syria, continue to build and defend a sweeping social revolution rooted in the principles of direct-democracy, women’s liberation, cooperative economics, cultural pluralism and social ecology. How is society being organized in Rojava? What are the revolution’s achievements and challenges? How did this movement transform chaos into social revolution, and what lessons could we apply to organizing our own local communities? Join us as we discuss what is happening in Rojava, why it matters, and how we can stand in solidarity. The Emergency Committee for Rojava is proud to be partnering with the Institute for Social Ecology (ISE), Democratic Socialists of America - Libertarian Socialist Caucus (DSA-LSC), and the Oil & Gas Action Network (OGAN) as co-sponsors of this tour. All events will be FREE to the public. For more information contact [email protected]

Repost from Oregon Queer History Collective @glapnpdx “OQHC: looks forward to continuing a partnership with the emerging Darcelle XV Plaza. As part of this partnership, we & signatories of our petition (link in bio) invite Portland Parks and Recreation, Clean and Safe, Center for Public Interest Design, and NNA Landscape Architecture to open a continued conversation regarding the plan to install a fence at this park. A fence here represents hostile architecture; raises concerns about accessibility and the welcoming atmosphere it is meant to foster; ignores histories of fencing people; and potentially creates a safety hazard and dangerous space. We invite project staff and others to consider alternatives that ensure inclusivity, connections, and accessibility remain at the forefront of this project.” To sign the petition visit the link in the bio through @glapnpdx Please share widely

Saturday, March 16th! At the Social Justice Action Center! We will welcome Tariq Khan, to speak about his new book: ‘The Republic Shall be Kept Clean: How Settler Colonial Violence Shaped Anti-Left Repression.’ Tariq Khan is a Lecturer in the History of Psychology, Race, Gender, Capitalism, and Colonial Power at Yale University. He is an historian with an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the intertwined forces shaping our political, economic, and cultural institutions. He has wide-ranging research, writing, and teaching experience in the fields of global capitalism, US history, ethnicity & race studies, gender studies, colonialism & postcolonialism, labor & working-class history, radical social movements, & history “from below.” His new book examines how the colonizing wars against Native Americans created the template for anticommunist repression in the United States. Khan’s analysis reveals bloodshed and class war as foundational aspects of capitalist domination and vital elements of the nation’s long history of internal repression and social control. His work shows how the state wielded the tactics, weapons, myths, and ideology refined in America’s colonizing wars to then repress anarchists, labor unions, and a host of others labeled as alien, multi-racial, multi-ethnic urban rabble and how the ruling classes considered radicals of all stripes to be anticolonial insurgents. Additionally, Khan’s work charts the decades of Red Scares that began in the 1840s, he reveals how capitalists and the US government used much-practiced counterinsurgency rhetoric and tactics against movements they perceived and vilified as “anarchist.” Please Join Us! Masks encouraged! Sliding scale donations at the door - No one will be turned away for lack of funds! March 16th, at 1pm at the Social Justice Action Center, 400 SE 12th Ave in Portland

Aaron Bushnell was an anarchist, a much loved friend to many and heavily involved in mutual aid and solidarity work in San Antonio, TX. May is memory be a blessing and a reminder to never stop struggling for total liberation. Free Palestine! repost from @paulmg16 From Aaron: “I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I’m about to engage in an extreme act of protest, but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal,” 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell said prior to setting himself on fire.” “Many of us like to ask ourselves, what would I do if I was alive during slavery? or the Jim Crow South? Or Apartheid? What would I do if m country was committing genocide? The answer is, you’re doing it right now.”

Vigil tomorrow/Tuesday 2/27 at Pioneer Courthouse Square , 6pm, to honor the life of Nex Benedict. According to Democraxy Now, “Nex identified within the Two Spirit, transgender and gender-nonconforming umbrella. Family members said they had faced bullying since last year. In 2022, Oklahoma lawmakers passed a law banning transgender students from using bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity.” Organizers and organizations interested in supporting can message lead organizer @esmeesactivism or @_highanxiety . Queer & Trans Indigenous speakers are desired! BYO - candles #justicefornex

Coming up! Surviving the Disaster - a night to reflect on community, mutual aid, disaster relief and autonomy. Matt Peterson of Woodbine - a volunteer-run experimental hub in Ridgewood, Queens for developing the practices, skills, and tools needed to build autonomy - will speak about food sovereignty organizing, experiments with neighborhood self-organization, how Woodbine has succeeded over the past decade and how the multiple crisis influence our long-term visions of a life in common. February 19th, 7pm at the Social Justice Action Center: 400 SE 12th Ave, Portland OR Suggested donation $5 - $20 - masks encouraged. #mutualaid #portland #pdxmutualaid #foodsovereignty

Join us! Community Education Film Night at the Social Justice Action Center! This Saturday, February 10th the United Mutual Aid Network will be hosting a screening of: Al Nakba- The Palestinian Catastrophe 1948 starting at 7pm, followed by a discussion at 8pm! SJAC: 400 SE 12th Ave, Portland OR #pdxfilm #portland #film #freepalestine

You are invited to a community potluck and gathering at the Social Justice Action Center on Saturday, November 11th, from 5:30-7:30pm. This event follows the summer’s Open House, which brought incredible, kind, and caring community members and over twelve organizations together to share experience, perspectives, and areas of work. This time we want to host a space that offers an opportunity for folks to get to know each other better, to share dreams and aspirations, to conspire and collaborate. SJAC seeks to nurture a community of radical dreamers, architects of a better future, collectively and cooperatively created today. The Social Justice Action Center (SJAC) is located at 400 SE 12th Ave, just north of Stark. Masks are strongly encouraged, as is food and non-alcoholic drinks. Also feel free to bring your ‘zines, info about what you or your organization are working on, or artistic projects you’re creating, and anything else you’d like to share. Looking forward to seeing you! Love & Solidarity, SJAC Coordinating Group For more info, contact us at: [email protected] (Image: “Gathering the Sparks,” by Erik Ruin ) @justseeds @erikruin

At the Social Justice Action Center, we are reminded that in our journey towards a more just and equitable society we must confront abuse of power within our own communities when it arises. In addressing this issue we uphold these values- Believe survivors. Stand against rape culture. We’ve put forward a public statement on our website discussing a situation involving members of one of our programs, which has subsequently been suspended. The statement highlights the steps we've taken toward healing and accountability as part of our commitment to aligning our actions with the future we aspire to create. Link in our bio leads to the full statement regarding recent events. In struggle and solidarity, SJAC #SJAC #BelieveSurvivors #Accountability #solidarity

Awesome turn out for SJAC’s first Open House! Thank you so much for everyone that came out! There is radical momentum going on in Portland and SJAC wants you to come connect! We’ll be here until 2pm tabling and enjoying the music and free food! Let’s connect the dots!! Join us, and SJAC partners: @symbiosis_pdx @groundscore.association @wapatoislandfarm Mutual Aid Acupuncture Collective, @kalikasan_sol_org @rosecityradical @budding_roses_pdx Institute for Anarchist Studies, @portlandmutualaid Municipal Eco Resiliency Project, @lumpy.space.portland And Pocket’s Free Kitchen serving warm delicious food!

This Sunday! SJAC is holding an Open House to build stronger partnerships in the community. We are inviting organizations to table and share their work with the public. Our goal is to connect the dots between causes and fronts against oppression, to celebrate our communities and shine a light on the projects at SJAC, and to showcase other local work that you can support and plug into. This event is about celebrating resistance against oppression, and to encourage and invite folks to get involved in political organizing. Free event, all ages, family friendly. There will be free food and tabling from several radical community organizations and music by DJ Hans! Sunday, July 9th 2023 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Social Justice Action Center 400 SE 12th Avenue Portland, Oregon 97214