I am ver y exci ted about coming on board as the new Program Director for the Peace Resource Center of San Diego. I hope to continue the work I star ted when I joined the Board of Dir ector s in November of last year and I w i l l now be able to devote more time and energy to the PRC. Even w ith a par t time schedule I have found time to work on outr each, fundraising, event organizing, off ice work, and ini tial steps for speci f ic campaign bui lding.

I am eager to work w ith Board members and our extended PRC family on cr iminal justice issues. I would l ike to see us develop a par ticular

campaign and expand our par tner organizations and community network for social justice campaign suppor t work. We have laid the ground work for the development of a more focused cr iminal justice campaign w ith our shared grant proposal submissions w ith organizations based in Bar r io Logan and South East San Diego. I am especial ly proud of our work w ith People over Prof i ts San Diego and Community Assistance Suppor t Team and I hope that the r elationship we have forged w ith these organizations w i l l enr ich our social justice work and expand our social and poli tical al l iances w ith marginal ized communities in San Diego.

I am also ver y interested in meeting w ith our cur rent and past members and l istening to what you have to say about the PRC and what your vision is for our organization. I see my role as a staff member as not only being an extension of your interest and our shared PRC mission, but also a way to connect us to the larger social movement and local social justice str uggles. With this is in mind I am looking for ward to meeting al l of you and working w ith al l of you on bui lding up the PRC and our Beloved community.

Dar w in

April 6, 2017

L

v iew Dar win's Bio Her e

Peace Resource Center Spr ing Newsletter

GREETINGS FROM DARWIN

WELCOME PROGRAM DIRECTOR DARWIN FISHMAN

wor king f or peace, social j ust ice, and t he env ir onment since 1980

Criminal Injustice System event with Rev. Bowseret.

FOR PEACE RESOURCE

CENTER TOURS CALL

619- 263- 9301

Come out and suppor t the Annual Work-a-thon for Peace and Social Justice at the beauti ful Mt. Hope Community Garden! 

THERE ARE TWO WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

1. Volunteer for a day of ser v i ce in suppor t of the Mt. Hope Community Garden, an ini tiative of Project New Vi l lage in Southeastern San Diego. Project New Vi l lage str engthens communities through the development of beauti ful, beneficial and bounti ful neighborhood food options. The Garden aims to engage cultural ly diver se stakeholders into creating a neighborhood food ecosystem, which ser ves as a gather ing space for chi ldren, fami l ies and community.

2. Sponsor a volunteer wor ker . Your donation w i l l give encouragement to those contr ibuting their labor for the Work-a-thon and also benefi t two non-prof i t groups: the Project on Youth and Non-Mil i tar y Oppor tuni ties (Project YANO), and the Peace Resource Center of San Diego. 

WORK-A-THON VOLUNTEERS: The tasks that w i l l be done on May 6 include reposi tioning 17 r aised garden plot fr ames, weed removal and painting a low wall constr ucted w ith r ecycled concrete slabs. Time fr ame: 9 AM-3PM (work al l or par t of this time). Workers are asked to sol ici t sponsorships from family, fr iends, employers, etc., to match their labor w ith a donation. To volunteer , please register here: https://goo.gl/forms/DKqkhbReN4ljxF3P2. Once your r egistr ation is complete, a sponsorship form w i l l be sent to you.

WORK-A-THON SPONSORS: Sponsors contr ibute money in suppor t of a volunteer worker. You can sponsor a speci f ic worker you know , or send a check/donate online and we w i l l match you w ith a volunteer. Contr ibutions are tax-deductible. Please make checks out to ?PRC/Work-a-thon? and send to Peace Resource Center 3850 Westgate Pl. San Diego, CA 92105 or visi t http://w w w.prcsd.org/donate/ and select Annual Work-a-Thon under Online Giving Options.

SIGN UP FOR THE 2017 WORK- A- THON!

WORK- A- THON FOR PEACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Regist er f or t he

wor k- a- t hon Her e!

Donat e t o t he

wor k- a- t hon Her e!

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This Spr ing the PRC hosted two events using our PRISMSS fr amework to identi fy the connections between social justice issues. These events were Inaugur at i on Addr essing the People's I ssues: A Social Just i ce Teach-in w ith over 75 par ticipants and Cr im inal In just i ce System : Racial Just i ce Today, For the People, By the People. We worked w ith numerous par tner organizations including Standing Up for Racial Justice, Amer ican Fr iends Ser vice Committee, People Over Prof i ts San Diego, Community Assistance Suppor t Team, Justice Overcoming Boundar ies, and Pi l lar s of the Community.We w i l l continue to focus on issues r elating to cr iminal justice and civi l disobedience this spr ing so stay tuned for announcements about those events!

We have also been focusing on peace education this year. We have hosted f ive Peace Ci r cle Saturday workshops. Those cir cles included an introductor y workshop to the cir cle process, a peace consciousness r aising cir cle, a healing through hear ing our hear ts cir cle, and two I am the voice of humanity cir cles. Each cir cle keeper provided a di f ferent approach and exper ience to par ticipants.

These cir cles invi ted par ticipants to exper ience the power of community l istening and authentic communication. They looked at how we can use cir cles to r esolve confl ict, to increase peace in our neighborhoods, and to hear our inner voice. We hope to continue this exploration into the power and practice of holding cir cles in the future.

POVERTYRACEIMMIGRATIONSUSTAINABILITYMILITARISMSPIRITUALITYSEXISM AND GENDER

THIS SPRING AT THE PRC

The Peace Resource Center of San Diego is located in a neighborhood that includes a small elementar y school. With i ts unique str aw -bale bui lding si tuated near the San Diego Peace Garden and or chards, we felt we could offer an educational oppor tuni ty to the nearby school that would help introduce the ideas of peace and sustainabi l i ty to the local chi ldren.

This is impor tant work, and in the age of testing, testing, testing, many of our students won?t have the oppor tuni ty to think about what peace is or how people work for peace. Likew ise, many chi ldren are grow ing up w ithout much connection to nature. Our hope for a

sustainable wor ld begins w ith the connections that young people make to plants, animals and insects, soi l and water.

There are plenty of hands-on, craft, dramatic and interactive segments. Many of our chi ldren are missing the sor t of exper iences that are r espectful of a w ider var iety of learning styles. Ever y week we host one class at the PRC for two hours and there is a di f ferent lesson plan for each grade level.

We are the Peace Resource Center of San Diego and we work for peace, social justice and sustainabi l i ty. We believe in star ting w ith the chi ldren, and we hope you w i l l join us.

PEACEMAKING PARTNERS WITH ROWAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

THIS SPRING AT THE PRC

Dear Peace Center ,

Thank you for invi ting the school to learn how to have peace and not bul lying.

I learned that f ighting is not the answer for bul lying because al l i t does is encourage the bullying.

(Student from our Peacemaking Par tner s program w ith Rowan Elementar y School)

They loved using the puppets to role play being kind to each other. Thank you so much for what you do! I w ish we could come here ever y day. My kids were thr i l led to visi t and enjoyed the presentation and presenter s ver y much!

(Feedback from a 1st Grade Teacher )

PEACEMAKING PARTNERS RATIONALE

A student picture of our classroom. One of our teachers is saying "It 's about peace!"

The PRC of San Diego was established in 1980 to faci l i tate networking among peace and social justice-related organizations, and to advance peace education and nonviolent alternatives to confl ict r esolution. Recognizing a strong commitment to dialogue is necessar y to the promotion of peace, we embraced the oppor tuni ty to par tner w ith the Fr iends of the City Heights Librar y and host this forum. We thank them for the oppor tuni ty, and al l of the candidates present for the impor tant dialogue about the future of our ci ty that w i l l fol low.

Because today?s events are in obser vance of ?Law Day?, we must acknow ledge some relevant histor y that may not be other w ise mentioned. Law Day was created in 1957 by proclamation by then President Eisenhower , to be obser ved on May 1st, the same day as the histor ic working class holiday, May Day. The holiday to promote ?law and order? was conceived by Char les S. Rhyne, an advocate of desegregation, former legal counsel to Eisenhower , and then President of the Amer ican Bar Association. He later stated that he was concerned, ?the r eason we were having so much law lessness in the wor ld at that time was that people didn?t appreciate or r espect the law

and those who were car r ying out the law.?

We recognize that Rhyne?s concern was dr iven in no small par t by the legi timacy cr isis that beset the US legal system as law enfor cement?s fr equent role in r epressing labor organizing, abetting lynchings and race r iots, and enfor cing segregation ? both Nor th and South ? had inci ted mass civi l disobedience from both the Labor Movement and the Civi l Rights

Movement. The USA?s claims to moral and global leadership after Wor ld War II ? to promoting fr eedom and democracy ? were plainly falsi f ied by the actions of i ts defenders of ?law and order?, which r esulted in lost credibi l i ty abroad.

I t is also r elevant to point out, w i th this year?s Law Day emphasizing the Miranda decision?s 50th anniver sar y, that 2016 is also the 50th anniver sar y of the formation of the Black Panther Par ty ? an organization founded in r esponse to r acial ly-motivated police brutal i ty and the systemic r acism i t suppor ted. In this day of social media, l ivestr eams, and vir al cel l phone videos ? providing ci tizens a means of pier cing the ?Blue Wall of Si lence? and achieving some small measure of accountabi l i ty for pol ice misconduct ? we recall that one of the f i r st activi ties of the Black Panthers was shadow ing the Oakland Police and reading Miranda r ights to ar r ested suspects who were not duly informed by the ar resting off icer s. The present-day paral lels should not be lost to anyone in this room.

Equal justice has been lacking in San Diego, whether that be from racial prof i l ing, discr iminator y enfor cement pol icies in communities south of HWY 8, r epeated instances of pol ice misconduct throughout the ci ty, and a general lack of accountabi l i ty. I suspect, i f San Diego were to soon face i ts ow n ?Ferguson or Baltimore moment?. (This prediction was sadly vindicated On Sept. 27, 2016 in El Cajon w ith the questionable shooting of Alfr ed Olango by El Cajon PD).

We are par ticular ly concerned about the insti tutional r elationship between the SDPD and the City Attorney?s Off ice. The City Attorney?s cur rent dual role as both legal advisor to the Citizen?s Review Board on Police Practices as well as defense counsel for civi l complaints against the SDPD is an obvious confl ict of interest. Jude Li tzenberger , Executive Dir ector of the Cali fornia Veterans Legal Task Force and a former member of San Diego's Citizens Review Board, stated in March 2016 on KPBS?s Midday Edition, r egarding the legal advise provided to the CRB by the City Attorney?s off ice: "I f i t assisted in exonerating the off icer , we got the law on i t from the ci ty attorney. I f i t

assisted the ci tizen, nothing was said. I t was ver y one-sided."

The cur rent City Attorney?s Off ice has faced tr ansparency and accountabi l i ty concerns, fai lure due to lack of super vision, and the poli tical misuse of prosecutor ial jur isdiction. We cannot abide w ith a str aight face the cur rent City Attorney?s Off ice speaking about ?law and order? whi le simultaneously appear ing to shield pol ice misconduct from accountabi l i ty and at same time aggressively prosecuting nonviolent protestor s and people w r i ting poli tical messages w ith sidewalk chalk.

The future City Attorney must no longer countenance the over -policing of dissent, fr ee assembly, and related f i r st amendment protected activi ties. He or she must disclose and cannot suppor t the war rantless use by law enfor cement of mass sur vei l lance technologies l ike l icense plate r eaders, stingray devices (that mimic cel l phone towers), or sur vei l lance drones. He or she must dir ectly address the issue of r acial ly biased policing by SDPD, and no longer tolerate, or enable, the ?Blue Wall of Si lence? of pol icing culture that shields police misconduct from accountabi l i ty.

Final ly, our commitment to peace means we advocate r estorative justice and the r ehabi l i tation of nonviolent offenders through reconci l iation w ith victims and the community ? something especial ly impor tant in l ight of Proposi tion 47, which changed some nonviolent cr imes from felonies to misdemeanors. So, we applaud the 2014 creation of the Community Cour t Program, which provides an option to hold offenders accountable through community ser vice r ather than a jai l sentence. And, we are also honored to point out our ow n par tner ship w ith the Second Chance Program in San Diego, who cur rently farms the Peace Garden on this campus as par t of their program benefi tting at-r isk youth. The Peace Garden is just behind the bui lding at the other end of the campus.

Thank you al l once again for joining us today at the Peace Campus for this City Attorney candidate forum.

commentary pr ovided by PRC boar d member james Bar t ol i

LAW DAY COMMENTARY

Law Day Commentar y f r om Last year 's cit y at t or ney Candidat e f or um at t he PRC

View t he Handbook Her e

Become a Rapid Responder wit h t he PRC Becom e a Rapid Responder w i th the Peace Resour ce Center In the face of increasing hate abetted by the policies and rhetor ic of the new administr ation, community self-defense is r amping up. Groups San Diego have been mobi l izing assistance and suppor t for peoples and rel igions under attack. The Peace Resource Center of San Diego has teamed up w ith several organizations and activists to provide a ser ies of Rapid Response Trainings (RRTs).

What i s r apid r esponse? I t is a dedicated belief in the r ights and l iber ties of al l peoples here and now. I t is democracy in action. I t is people who refuse to back dow n in the face of aggression and act to suppor t those under attack. I t is coming out into our str eets, our schools, our neighborhoods in immediate r esponse to hate.

As created by Jeoffr ey Gordon, the RRT Project intends to use the diver si ty of our communities to protect our communities. The PRC has been busy providing tr ainings and real-time assistance around the county since December. Perhaps you may have seen our br ight neon vests at the #J20 march and the Duncan Rally, attended one of the 10 workshops at a Social Justice Teach-in or event, or heard a presentation at your church, Rotar y Club or coffeeshop. Look at our Event Calendar for future workshops!

Rapid Response Team Wor kshops ? These workshops* help bystanders become ?upstanders? who help de-escalate confl ict, tension and hate in our neighborhoods. We are deeply appreciative of the 110+ community defenders who have alr eady signed up to be a Responder. Par ticipants r eceive intensive Know Your Rights instr uction, and role-play di f ferent approaches that w i l l de-escalate hate. Learn how to document and provide w itness to attacks, Cop Watch and provide suppor t to sur vivor s and their fami l ies after the attack.

*PRC workshops are based on the War Resisters International Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns.

NEEDED - committed community defenders to join a Rapid Response Team. Responders always work in teams and in dir ect communication w ith those who are under attack.

Peace Wi tness: people who document hate acts/off icial misconduct/community attacks and testi fy at public forums, in cour t, or in meetings w ith off icials.

Peace Moni tor : people using nonviolence to de-escalate tensions/confl ict in the str eets.

Inter venor : teams tr ained to inter vene and provide assistance or safety for those facing escalating aggression in large groups or busy areas.

Aler t Ver i f i cat i on Team : r eady to r espond immediately to ver i fy aler ts, and communicate dir ectly w ith the community or per son under attack to see what type of help is wanted.

Vict im /fam i ly suppor ter : people who are r eady to provide immediate assistance to the victims/sur vivor s and their fami l ies after attacks (this par ticipation doesn't r equir e tr aining).

Com m uni ty Act iv i st suppor ter : people who can provide suppor t for activists who have been targeted, harassed or ar r ested due to their amazing work in community self-defense. I f you are organizing a r al ly or event and want an RRT tr aining? Please contact the Peace Resource Center. Interested in joining the RRT? Contact us - Anne (anne@prcsd.org) or sign up w ith Jeoffr ey at one of his presentations.

To lear n m or e or schedule a t r ain ing for your gr oup, contact Anne Bar r on at anne@prcsd.org or info@prcsd.org

2017 KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!

?I want my at tor ney. I i nvoke my r i ght to r em ain si l ent . I do not consent to a sear ch of any k ind- not of m e, my belongings nor my vehicle. I i nvoke al l r i ghts, i ncluding the 4th, 5th , 6th , 9th , 14th am endm ents. I want my at tor ney pr esent befor e and dur ing any quest i on ing and befor e di scussing any waiver ?. ? KYR, uaptsd.or g

Your Peace Resource Center of San Diego w i l l continue to promote justice and peace in 2017. We w i l l work together w ith you to broaden and deepen outreach around these messages:

-cl imate change is r eal, decimating humanity and nature; we must act now to curb i t

-black and brow n l ives do matter , there must be equal digni ty and justice

-global war is w rong, economically, pol i tical ly, and moral ly, creating hate and more war

-economic inequali ty is fundamental ly inhumane, ser ves only the greedy; we need fair labor and fair share;

-border walls are shor tsighted and inevi tably ineffective; they divide, we uni te;

-mi l i tar ism is a disease eating away at the hear t of our society, and must be cured

The Peace Resource Center w i l l , and must, continue. But the degree we succeed dir ectly depends on our par tner ship w ith members, suppor ter s, par tner organizations, and donors. Your PRC l ives by your dol lar suppor t. Suppor t is tax deductible; the PRC is a 501-c-3 nonprofi t, tax ID # 95-3594247. We must r aise over $60,000 in community suppor t to sustain actions, and can do more i f we exceed this level.

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