The proposed cuts by the City are small ($46,8998), they are in a context of incremental erosion of local human service funding and  national-level attacks on our social safety net through sequestration:

• Local erosion of human service funding: Over the past ten years (2003-2013),  overall city General Fund expenditures declined by about 1.25% while human services funding declined by 14.32% over the same period (source).
• Sequestration cuts to human services: According to a report by the Washtenaw County Office of Community and Economic Development, ”Sequestration cuts will result in nearly $1,000,000 in reductions to support for unemployed residents, nutrition assistance, affordable housing and utility assistance, and support to youth and seniors this year.”

Please  Email Mayor and Council  to restore human service funding.

Additional Resources:

• Proposed Budget FY2014
  
• Letter from ICPJ Board President Ron Gregg to Council regarding funding for Permanent Supportive Housing
• Contact information for the Mayor and City Council

The Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice is pleased to announce the publication of Closing the Gap-Community Perspectives On Educational Equity in Ann Arbor.

This report is the result of several years of study, collaboration, and consultation ICPJ’s Racial and Economic Justice Task Force to explore:

• What are the points of leverage available to promote educational equity?
• What groups are currently working in these areas?
• What gaps exist that are not being filled?

Our hope is that the findings of the report provide support for exiting AAPS efforts to promote educational equity, insights that might improve these works, and a challenge for the school district to continue to strive to create a learning and teaching environment that serves all students.

Monseñor: The Last Journey of Oscar Romero

The Latin American Task Force and First United Methodist Church of Ypsilanti are hosting a screening of this documentary about the events leading to the death of Archbishop Oscar Romero.

Date: Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Time: 7:00 pm

Where: First United Methodist Church of Ypsilanti (209 Washtenaw Ave., Ypsilanti, MI)

(in Spanish with English subtitles)

Following the murder of his good friend Fr. Rutilio Grande, a priest killed for speaking out against injustice and organizing the poor people of El Salvador, Archbishop Oscar Romero asked, “If we do not change now, then when?” For the next three years, Romero tirelessly preached against the oppression and violence perpetrated by the government of El Salvador against its people and worked for a culture of peace in his homeland. He cried out to the soldiers committing these acts of violence:

“I want to make a special request to the men in the armed forces: brothers, we are from the same country, yet you continually kill your peasant brothers. Before any order given by a man, the law of God must prevail: “You shall not kill!”… In the name of God I pray you, I beseech you, I order you! Let this repression cease!”

The day after he spoke these prophetic words, he was assassinated.

Monseñor: the Last Journey of Oscar Romero, a documentary produced in 2010 to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Romero’s death, chronicles the last three years of his life through moving images and the inspiring words of the people of El Salvador whose lives and faith were transformed by his witness.

The Latin American Task Force and First United Methodist Church of Ypsilanti will show this powerful film and take up Romero’s charge to work for peace and justice:

“If my death is accepted by God, let it be for the liberation of my people, and as a testimony of hope in the future.” ~March 1980

Download  Monsenor_RomeroFilm_Flyer.

It was a shameful day when the U.S. Senate refused to act on sensible gun legislation supported by 90% of Americans but we cannot despair. There have been too many lives lost and too much work to do to despair. The lobbyists for the gun industry will not have the last word.

Please join us as we remember those killed by gun violence- 3513 since the tragedy at Newtown, 142 in the state of Michigan.

On Saturday, April 27th 1:00pm-2:00pm, we will gather at 5th Ave. on Community High’s lawn across from the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market to proclaim the names of everyone killed by gun violence in the state of Michigan since Newtown. We commit ourselves to ending this culture of violence and we call on our elected leaders to do their part and pass sensible gun legislation.

 Together, change will come.

The penal population within the United States has consistently increased every year for nearly the past four decades. Mass incarceration is now more a concern than ever before. With the incarceration rate four times its historic average, we need to address the social, political and economic consequences of a socially unjust criminal justice system.

The free screening of the documentary “Broken On All Sides” addresses the racial inequalities of the criminal justice system within the U.S. and the disastrous social impact mass incarceration brings to individuals and communities as a consequence.

Please come, invite your family and friends, and be a part of this important conversation.

WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, April 23

WHERE: Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, 1679 Broadway, Ann Arbor

SPONSORED: Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice

DETAILS: www.icpj.net, info@icpj.net, 734-663-1870, https://www.facebook.com/events/189777064504029/

Private prisons create a cycle of criminalization that tears at the heart of our communities.  This forum will bring together local and state elected officials, civic leaders and community activists to:

1. Educate our community about private prisons and the companies that build them;
2. Examine legislation that governs policy for state prisons and our judicial system; and
3. Explore best practices to address mass incarceration, the school-to-prison pipeline, prison reform and their impact on the local community.

REGISTRATION IS FREE AND REQUIRED FOR LUNCH (Provided for all registrants with tickets). Registration and details here.

WHERE: Eastern Michigan University, Student Center Grand Ballroom, 900 Oakwood Street, Ypsilanti, MI 48197

WHEN: Saturday, April 13, 2013 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM (EDT)

WHO: Sponsored by Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, Washtenaw County Democratic Party Black Caucus, Public Action Committee for Justice, EMU Department of Diversity and Community Involvement and Michigan Black Caucus – Local Elected Officials

DETAILS: For more information, contact Lefiest H. Galimore, at lefiest@aol.com or (734) 757-5225, or Reggie Barnes, at rbarne13@emich.edu or (734) 487-6790.

In discussing the pitfalls of “colorblindness” in the Obama era, Wise argues against colorblindness and for deeper color-consciousness in both public and private practice. We can only begin to move toward authentic social and economic equity through what he calls illuminated individualism—acknowledging the diverse identities that have shaped our perceptions and the role that race continues to play in the maintenance of disparities between whites and people of color in the United States today.

Where:  University of Michigan, Michigan League Ballroom, 911 N University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104

When: Wednesday, April 17th, 5:oo pm

Who: Sponsored by the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice and Understanding Race Theme Semester Student Steering Committee.

Details:  www.icpj.net, info@icpj.net, 734-663-1870, https://www.facebook.com/events/510418792349113/

Our 2013-March-Newsletter is available online. If you would like to receive it in your mailbox, please Become a Member Today.

Raise Your Voice for the Prevention of Gun Violence

 We can no longer allow gun manufacturers and their lobbyists to silence conversation about gun violence and sensible gun policy in this country. There is no more time for business as usual, 30,000 gun deaths a year is unacceptable.

 This coming Saturday, March 23rd, 2013 is the 10th anniversary of Michael Moore’s ‘Bowling for Columbine’ winning the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

To mark the date, Michael is hosting a screening of the film in New York City – and asking all Americans concerned about gun violence to watch ‘Bowling for Columbine’ that evening and then join him and a panel of activists afterwards for an online discussion about where we go from here, and concrete steps to force Congress to stop taking orders from the NRA and start listening to us.

Voices for the Prevention of Gun Violence is hosting a screening and joining the discussion. Please come, invite your family and friends, and be a part of this important conversation.

When: Saturday, March 23 (doors open at 6:30pm, film at 7:00pm, live video discussion with Michael Moore at 9:00pm)

Where: Rudolph Steiner H.S., Assembly Hall (2230 Pontiac Trail, Ann Arbor)

http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/509449379117814/