SPP NEWSLETTER - March 2021
MESSAGE FROM CORE
Peace and love to all SPP members and supporters. Our hearts our heavy as we process the recent white supremacist terror attack on the Asian community in Atlanta, GA, killing 8 people, the majority Asian women and massage parlor workers. We had previously written a statement in solidarity with our Asian community after the uptick of hate-crimes, particularly against elders, which can be read HERE. Let this most recent incident motivate us even more to come together across race, class, and gender lines to fight the white supremacist, patriarchal, capitalist system that is oppressing us all.
We are excited to share that the Seattle Peoples Party will be on the ballot again this year, represented by the powerful visionary NIKKITA OLIVER running for Seattle City Council - Position 9 (one of two citywide positions). This membership voted unanimously to approve them as a SPP candidate. While Nikkita has officially resigned from leadership in SPP in order to comply with campaign ethics law, we are honored to support them as they continue to build people power and serve our community.
The Seattle City Council race will be one of many to watch this year, including Seattle Mayor, King County Prosecutor, King County Council, and Port of Seattle Commission. Regardless of who ends up in these positions, we know that THE POWER IS WITH THE PEOPLE! Let’s continue building our grassroots base to hold local elected officials accountable, educate the community, and provide mutual aid opportunities that strengthen our movement.
We appreciate your continued support and are excited to see you (outside or online) soon.
In Solidarity,
SPP Core
TAKE ACTION
Massage Parlor Outreach Project - MPOP
Please support the Massage Parlor Outreach Project! MPOP is a group of community members who provide outreach support for Asian immigrant message workers in Seattle Chinatown ID, connecting workers with resources, information about workers and immigrant rights, and to build community. Donations accepted on Venmo @MPOP_SEA. Please notate as “MPOP.”
Election Basics
Also please take time to:
UPCOMING EVENTS & RESOURCES
HAPPENING TONIGHT! #BreatheForKaloni
Friday, March 19 5pm
At just 12 years old, Kaloni Bolton was a victim of substandard care. She was refused adequate healthcare at North Benson Urgent Care. After telling the nurses she was having a hard time breathing, they made her wait in the car for 30 minutes. Once she was allowed in the clinic they gave her oxygen, only to find out the oxygen tank was empty. By the time they brought out the second oxygen tank she lost consciousness. She was placed on life support before she passed away. The family of Kaloni is in need of your support. Please bring flowers, candles, and compassion.
Solidarity Rally for Alabama Warehouse Workers
Saturday, March 20 2pm
This Saturday is an International Day of Solidarity with the Alabama warehouse workers who are fighting to form the first union at an Amazon workplace in the country! 6,000 workers -- 80% of whom are Black -- have begun standing up against the second largest company in the country and the second richest man in the world. Join us this Saturday, March 20th, at 2pm for the Solidarity Rally
End Auto-Decline Policy Webinar
Tuesday, March 30 6pm
There will be an online webinar to educate our community about auto-decline, and how we can advocate to end this horrible, racist policy. Auto-decline is a process that automatically tries children as adults for certain crimes, depending on the offense and the young person's age. This process disproportionately impacts youth of color, who, as we know, are already targeted by the school-to-prison pipeline. More info coming soon. Please put this on your calendar, we hope to see you there. End auto-decline statewide!
Nikkita For Nine Campaign
Visit nikkitafornine.com for campaign updates and events, and stay tuned for upcoming SPP events to highlight Nikkita’s candidacy!
LEARNING FROM HXSTORY
Moving forward, our monthly newsletters will spotlight past community organizing projects. There are always opportunities to learn from those who came before us. We want to recognize transformative work, starting this month with The Rainbow Coalition out of Chicago in the 60s and 70s.
The Rainbow Coalition was a powerful, revolutionary movement that came together despite intense segregation at the time in Chicago. Poor communities across racialized neighborhoods were being oppressed by police brutality, housing issues, and inadequate healthcare. The Black Panthers came together with the Young Patriots, Young Lords, and eventually the American Indian Movement, I Wor Kuen, and many more groups and people of all races to raise awareness and build people power. The groups in the Rainbow Coalition supported each other with several mutual aid and educational projects, including the free breakfast program, health clinics, a revolutionary newspaper, community defense, and campaigns targeting slum lords. The Rainbow Coalition also stood in solidarity with anti-colonial, anti-imperialist struggles around the world. “This was a complete challenge to the structure. It wasn’t saying ‘let us in.’ That was not the position of the Rainbow Coalition. We didn’t want in. So they didn’t have a handle on us.” - Omar Lopez of the Young Lords
Overtime, the elite power establishment recognized the power of the Rainbow Coalition, and went to great lengths to bring it down. The infamous Cointelpro program by the FBI worked with local police to surveil, target, and criminalize the lead organizers. They terrorized the breakfast program, smashing the building and throwing food and eggs on the walls. Additionally, the city fought the movement with bureaucracy, serving ridiculous fines for trumped up building violations. Many leaders of the Rainbow Coalition did time in jail, where they were placed in isolation because officials were worried they would organize the whole jail. A lot of people underestimated what the government would do to oppress a real, true poor people’s movement. After the police murder of Fred Hampton, and violent attacks on several organizers, the Rainbow Coalition was forced to go underground to keep the community safe.
But as the saying goes, you can kill a revolutionary but you can’t kill the revolution. The Rainbow Coalition inspired many more projects around the country, as well as local campaigns for city office throughout the 70s and 80s. “We didn’t think elections were going to give us revolution, but we saw it as a tool to continue the struggle.” - Jose Cha-Cha Jimenez, who ran for Alderman in the 46th ward
“The Rainbow Coalition gave a voice to the voiceless, and their activism demonstrated that ordinary people can change society through collective action.” - Johanna Fernandez, historian
We recommend this PBS documentary to learn more about the Rainbow Coalition. Let us be inspired by their movement of solidarity and mutual aid, and fortify ourselves to withstand government suppression. ALL POWER TO ALL PEOPLE!
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Seattle Peoples Party is a community-centered grassroots political party led by and accountable to the people most requiring access and equity in the City of Seattle.
