[act-ma] 2/24 (This Evening) Stepping Up for Texas! 6 p.m. Eastern (Zoom/Facebook)

[Suren Moodliar]

The stories and struggles tear at the heart!


*CLICK HERE TO JOIN ON ZOOM:  WEDNESDAY, 6:00 PM EASTERN(5-CENTRAL,
4-MOUNTAIN, 3-PACIFIC)
<https://u1584542.ct.sendgrid.net/ss/c/mRNLFKyANPYkYXuUTzk_S8eGCfMPKtWt9Y6VsHU6Kpcpyr0Q0n2v8imruV48w3agOYk6b6SfwcsMJ-lzUaVnAiSFrykygQfaXcy3WI4QKtBGcfVjSvr6XBPaV6S7yoOWJGN653iXyW_DrOOQxneulSgwRe6C4oHxZGW0b6MQL58ZQ2sIhpoZ9ZufzbouJscAa-z7XzrL3Je9ZtYxoSiTOvETQi5N9H5hX2pnzXXVgNmh5I4ZMrVUXiSoGsni4p1-TAatjXgx0tPUHGiv8ifYUourr0gGlQtH0auhJKY0qAa_txow3mPxUjJ1Q98FUpVCvvoeLsZ2fmvItdhs-UmpXrdH8kAdnsoNq5XhbMd6Z2TeXiBEJ_5Ys3CY689zFh3n/39p/GMc6UohcSX-gjjpgIePzEw/h1/HqfLr10Wf56Bj8P0H1DvygaqNvzt5r9U2VBQRS3YvMI>*

*Join David Cobb in conversation with:*

   - *Alice Liu - West Street Recovery (Houston). Since Hurricane Harvey
   hit Houston in 2017, Alice has been fighting for climate and environmental
   justice. In college, she started Rice Climate Alliance, which pushes for
   divestment from fossil fuels and private prisons. She works for West Street
   Recovery
   <https://u1584542.ct.sendgrid.net/ss/c/mRshnjzLbfRUAJcmEcvG02IkT40BUeLao1d9w4VQU5VMgHtinxn5XXDDh79D_-SEW7qFCXrHTVVk8WsCg-ccLDvQNWtphSG1M-bap1v4xLAtRnpyypamsVR2UMnUp1ALE0kY1_pOOML2J0Y5Q-FxQebOdX2FfWVTo-vnnOAP1lOL4w2Y2tdmXtvAQ7VZ_n01qbPu9H6z4MKr2KNTFACmGuJ6CMf5-W92wAdmM1FCazgTEFFWxrT0PTlFcysqXTbw8ttvn33LZQ1R-VoLIpaDB--n8JRByE1UHRhAaIY5WsRET0Oj4yhj8arLFs0uAsRDyeDeAgoraw5fYxatA-GmQ6OpLu6s07ypGdpu0DBpPY_mmyu6GMflqJakpjvnaIl7/39p/GMc6UohcSX-gjjpgIePzEw/h2/lNC3Ty2E86LiSVoAsIv88AAAomeTi1Mqk0tjXFrxdAQ>,
   a horizontally organized grassroots group using rebuild and recovery
   efforts to build community power*
   - *Bill Medaille - Austin, is an attorney with more than a decade of
   experience in the Texas energy and government finance industries. He
   previously worked at the Lower Colorado River Authority, one of the largest
   utilities in central Texas.*
   - *Cristian Camacho - An activist doing Mutual Aid work with Sunrise
   Movement Dallas
   <https://u1584542.ct.sendgrid.net/ss/c/atcYNHk4Eh2YdGnwBh-YDPAZiEt8wwS6hp5wOIb3CiLp7F8yi2754t3W7IBk57EEI1sRBz5YmUm0D8ouYQ42avTa4GMlBZ5sPeAHx7R9rmVAo9scUpFfrrTK5_SHx4lg14wEXHVobqjKVZ1nPBO78Lkv4BsZ7IwP1Jx0L_vdRYWTwVNHllafqc0VUjK5V3YcETU55b7Wno-uqauwWzExNMJrq9w7nNxre0lkoB3WJYMmewvqNRIQXwbYxaScAtIBySndOkpMsj9fpxyh7yzgfqvu0NmPVoMyvMHlr9IhFAnH_NwipZN3zpY0dzdZ9jQoJssEm_esaEjBvn3inIkP0VBQc_L-jadkwdV35SHAQ4NIyFq0jJqvJ--AAZ0tjJ7mBvJBT8Wnvdd1JkCUmV88ag/39p/GMc6UohcSX-gjjpgIePzEw/h3/Avggsg5w8aW12wM6rpoDwQuERleR7p27t6Zvq9Z3hjo>.*
   - *Marc Newsome - A multidisciplinary concept artist based in Houston.
   His recent focus of inspiration comes from the stories of his own
   neighborhood of Third Ward - an area of Houston currently undergoing the
   rapid socioeconomic changes of gentrification. See the 3rd Ward Project
   <https://u1584542.ct.sendgrid.net/ss/c/atcYNHk4Eh2YdGnwBh-YDE-osrDsyUs4KS0eRiq-k7TgahCuhs79Ohpj3bcMvXBRmr19rh7qQ6hpQbYwIR6sTUAEu0IfWqct6Vjd0MqMeiHBbRYC14eL5bG3K7lrLj1A-n-UzQDZhsyEVjji8z2RzGNbEY8sPyHgtVoOp5i92NBhWa6ZcFBljPqK6xbGbhdiJB7php8-t69elAttz3QBbGNsQPLWPEuGq-uKtODJRTi_St8s40us2xN3zeQYQPHkaqDOego21MoN2PqUHygjmOZniPN8Wsu3i1pQ4iEaqNGCjxju0NoOvDy7bP_9IEPA9YX0y-Z6umK8WCKhRvjzW4wjthzJ3jHVhgFZVApql8crp4iJpSQmJq9HSFx8shBO/39p/GMc6UohcSX-gjjpgIePzEw/h4/bIXj5lVFzhygLLZ3_XgjM3239cEm_8K7B4kWvzSDLEo>.*
   - *Rain - Southeast regional organizer and survival programs manager
   for Mutual Aid Disaster Relief
   <https://u1584542.ct.sendgrid.net/ss/c/tTBUZwcBH_2q13Ow12s-jYNTln1_6-PdX9yuDdIsFIVCH_ftl7i2gUaaPURU2CR4Euo2AKoM6nTS9oWKLKiznKUh0BfNlTqHsUACSQ4WZMkrQJThSf8VRDtqGBsEvdfl3BdRynOOBOAhG5Dz2NaE7JsGfaoZV8OGR2RjpvIEtiK9DwKpCHwzY9lxn-hUxxAQloxeA2GElqI-z_XsHAvMJcRw9YVR8XA0awlLEA439BRnAQVMEIBFrzsiIvxbvyNT1U9xvwdUXrqhMmDdmURKIAp0Efuh5y9Ium4PAuXzzaYRVMqUzHHOzqrJBy2N0U9YgiPEDNipPdxjtHgaJQUnUvIivFbTir53ZdpZ2fHYq-4AN4pvSfWppt9RZp-f0Y9q/39p/GMc6UohcSX-gjjpgIePzEw/h5/Tqi-n8nwdcc2oXlt_5StsUYajIRJLCZJIw47qTXhVU4>.
   A Florida transplant to Louisiana, Rain has worked on the ground doing
   recovery and rebuilding work since the network's inception, focusing on
   water, energy, remediation, and home repair.*
   - *Zak Kaszynski - The Corpus Christi, TX chapter of the DSA. He is a
   co-founder of the Mutual Aid Working Group
   <https://u1584542.ct.sendgrid.net/ss/c/mRshnjzLbfRUAJcmEcvG02COrz7T5HvZ4N3cR7hTKvlV88I7YugGugAoIsm-86nFyrpg4XCp5o4MSKNk3CBtx5FfnaQ_7_HaEfi483n_48VTCceyFqlRkMon-dvkToRG3boFSW4brlDOepeHbzGbutYVPWV1cSGAvEn6NkvHUTXdixOM1rh781y_gOjPyuGZ2gAVGHbWc4yUFI42vK-XwBxGyM0jQH4-Y5YfERueSSBQnUyHhWSHD89lP2TToB1_Cq83t9QQr86kjRffDVvf-6n_xnozZIsAZlUpjpdNrm_w9pwpxYHHbfmgWqyGRkUvidAoSo2OL7hKQ23sTQpf5DvnX0ZQpnmW4WpgL4fGjqG8dvSw3FZG9ZmNbcnRvw6-YBvgVXQvrZhxQTADFmzqxg/39p/GMc6UohcSX-gjjpgIePzEw/h6/D9W85QIeDtU3meKj059XUEluNIp87BYA2IWS1seXHwU>,
   which has been in operation since March of 2020.*

WHAT HAPPENED? WHY DID IT HAPPEN? WHAT IS TO BE DONE?

*The freeze set in, and the lights went out! And Texans found that
free-market fundamentalists can’t keep you warm and definitely won’t keep
the water running. Also, climate change does not care about ideology!*

*It might be too early to talk about the numbers, the suffering, and the
resistance, but neighbors are helping neighbors. Even with the pandemic,
mutual aid groups and grassroots support have been reaching out, across
borders, to stand with Texans.*

*But far, far more is needed. As with Puerto Rico and other disaster-struck
regions, what aid arrives will never replace the structural changes to the
economy and to the power structure that are needed to guarantee security
for all, not just for those who can jet off to Cancun.*

*This conversation, guest hosted by David Cobb, long-time Texas organizer
now residing in California, will bring impacted community activists and
organizers from Texas and Louisiana into the dialogue. We will turn to them
to let us know how we can help, what they have learned, and how we can
elevate mutual aid to a national and global plane.*

*Participants include Marc Newsome (artist and activist in Houston's 3rd
Ward), Rain (Lake Charles, LA), Alice Liu (coordinator, West Street
Recovery, Houston), DSA Corpus Christi Mutual Aid, and energy & utility law
attorney, Bill Medaille.*

*Organizations assisting in preparing this conversation include the DSA
Mutual Aid Working Group, Liberty Tree Foundation, encuentro5, and Shelter
& Solidarity.*
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