Member Recap: May 21, 2021

 


Welcome to the Member Recap, where you can catch up on NLG news from the last two weeks.

Be sure to keep up with us in real time on social media, on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook


Upcoming Webinars, Publications, and Announcements

NLG Las Vegas Book Club

The Education Committee of the Las Vegas National Lawyers Guild will be hosting its inaugural book club beginning in June! The dates will be: June 16th, June 30th, July 14th, July 28th, and August 11th, with a special guest on August 28th!

In keeping with our theme of Policing in America, we are honored to highlight Professor Elizabeth Hinton’s newest release, AMERICA ON FIRE: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion since the 1960’sA discussion with the author will follow on August 28th. The book club will be held virtually via Zoom. For those interested, you can register for the event via Eventbrite, here: NLG-LV Book Club Registration

NLG San Francisco-Bay Area: Root Causes of Forced Migration: Climate Change, Food Production, and Environmental Disaster (Part 2)

Join the NLG-SFBA Youth Caucus on May 26 at 6 PM PST alongside attorneys and community organizers for a conversation on how climate change is driving forced migration by endangering food production and increasing environmental disasters that are making locations across the world unlivable, and how grassroots movements are fighting against these incredible forces.

NLG San Francisco-Bay Area: California Public Records Act Requests and SB1421 for Activists, Legal Workers, and Movement Lawyers

Join the NLG-SFBA on June 1 at 6 PM PST for another CPRA workshop with Abenicio Cisneros. This workshop will discuss tactics and challenges of California Public Act requests made regarding records that are disclosable under SB1421 which includes; officer use-of-force incidents, sexual assault, and acts of dishonesty.

NLG San Francisco-Bay Area: Freeing Fremont Schools: No SROs in FUSD Town Hall

Join the NLG-SFBA Youth Caucus on June 6, 3-4:30 PM PST as they explore the harmful presence of School Resource Officers (SRO) in the Fremont School District, what they would want their schools to fund instead, and connect to other organizers who are fighting similar campaigns. If you are interested in joining the Youth Caucus or have any inquiries about the Town Hall, please email our program coordinator Savannah Landau, here: savannah@nlgsf.org

National Immigration Project (NIP-NLG)’s 2021 Annual Pre-AILA Crimes & Immigration Seminar

NIP-NLG is hosting a two-day seminar series all about immigration, including sessions on: “Winning Effective Post-Conviction Relief for Immigrants,” Crimes of Violence After United States v. Borden,” and “Immigration Implications of Diversion Programs.” There is a registration fee, and all information can be found on their site.

Currently, 7.75 Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit hours are pending with the Virginia State Bar, the State Bar of California, the State Bar of Texas, and the Washington State Bar.

Help Us #DropTheCharges Against BLM Protesters!

So far, we’ve received 2,500 signatures on our national petition demanding that the Biden administration drop the federal charges against the 350+ protesters who participated in last year’s uprising for Black lives. Help us reach our goal of 5,000 by May 25, the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. SIGN and SHARE the letter at bit.ly/DropTheChargesBLM and/or signal boost any of the following posts: FacebookTwitter / Instagram

We’re also collecting organizational endorsements, with 45 groups signed on so far!  If your organization would like to endorse, please complete the form here.

 


National, Committee, and Chapter Statements and News

Human Rights and Press Freedom Groups Call on Rep Gregory Meeks (D-WA) to Stop Weapons Sale to Israeli Government Following Attacks on Associated Press and Al Jazeera Offices in Gaza

Freedom of the press is an essential human right. The Israeli military’s bombing of international press offices actively interfered with the ability of journalists to document the situation on the ground in Gaza, including their ability to document human rights abuses and potential war crimes. Especially in light of numerous reports of social media censorship targeting Palestinians, it’s crucial that reporters in Gaza are able to do their jobs safely and without military interference. 

NLG National Statement in Solidarity with the People of Colombia in their Historic Uprising for Peace, the Right to a Dignified Life, and Against Militarism and Repression

The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) stands in solidarity with the people of Colombia in their national uprising for peace, in defense of the right to a dignified life, and against militarism and repression by the U.S.-backed government headed by President Iván Duque. We call on our members and allies throughout the United States and around the world to stand and act in support of this struggle, and to demand the immediate end of U.S and European military and police aid to Duque’s authoritarian regime.

NLG National Statement in Solidarity with the People of Palestine in their Struggle Against the Settler Colonial State of Israel

Israel has continued to violate international law even as calls for accountability have become increasingly louder on a global scale. For example, the International Criminal Court, after years of delay, finally announced that it will open an investigation into Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestine. All existing forms of international intervention have until now failed to persuade or force Israel to comply with humanitarian law, to respect fundamental human rights and to end its occupation and oppression of the people of Palestine. 

NLG Los Angeles Welcomes New Executive Director, Krithika Santhanam

In a letter to NLG-LA membership, interim ED Jim Lafferty wrote: “I am confident that Krithika will prove to be one of the very best of them all. Certainly, her loving personality, generosity of spirit, great mind, and total commitment to everything the Guild stands for, promises no less. I look forward to getting to know her even better over the next few weeks, as I offer her any assistance she might need in fully orientating into her new role. Although I suspect I will learn as much from her as she will from me.”


NLG In The News

5/21/21 | Al Jazeera Leaks show DC cops justify ‘aggressive’ protest tactics

“Maggie Ellinger-Locke, chair of NLG Mass Defense Committee that oversees the legal observer programme, told Al Jazeera “learning about this is troubling, but it’s not surprising. There is a long history of law enforcement attacks against NLG.”

5/21/21 | Common Dreams Coalition Pressures Key Democrat Gregory Meeks to Back Resolution Blocking Arms Sale to Israel

“In a joint statement, Fight for the Future, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, MediaJustice, MPower Change, and National Lawyers Guild pointed to the Israeli military’s recent bombing of buildings in Gaza that housed the offices of international and local news outlets, including prominent publications such as the Associated Press and Al Jazeera.”

5/17/21 | Southern Poverty Law Center Press Center | Hundreds of Immigrants Detained in Mississippi Endangered in COVID-19 Outbreak Caused by U.S. Government

“A catastrophic COVID-19 outbreak at the Adams County Detention Center (ACDC) in Natchez, Miss., is recklessly endangering the lives of hundreds of people, says a new Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) complaint filed today by immigrant rights organizations [incl. National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild] with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) and Office of the Inspector General (OIG).”

5/15/21 | Seattle Times National vaccination effort leaves ICE detainees behind

““We’re talking people who have been detained for a really long time, who have been let down and disappointed multiple times by the medical neglect and COVID outbreaks that were completely preventable, and then they were being approached and told, ‘Come and take this vaccine,’” said Sirine Shebaya, executive director of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, noting that some detainees offered the vaccine have been unwilling to be injected.”

5/3/21 | Common Dreams National Lawyers Guild Urges Biden to Align US Israel-Palestine Policy With International Law

“The memo (pdf), authored by the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) International Committee’s Palestine Subcommittee, notes that after four years of “bullish and detrimental” U.S. policy on Palestine and Israel under the Trump administration, “the health, human rights, and humanitarian situation for Palestinians—both in Palestine and in the refugee camps of surrounding countries—is dire.”


Jobs

Members-Only Job Board

Are you searching for a movement-related legal or organizing job OR internship?

A reminder that all current NLG members have access to our Members-Only job board! This resource includes open positions for attorneys, paralegals, organizers, legal workers and law students.

Check it out at nlg.org/job-board (NOTE: you must be logged in with your nlg.org account to view this page). Have a job or internship listing you’d like to share with fellow Guild members? Send it to jobboard@nlg.org.


 

Have something you want to see in the next Member Recap? To submit events, news, or other updates for consideration for the Recap, please email charlie@nlg.org!

 

Posted in Member Recap, News.