[act-ma] 9/8 - Boston RISE for Climate, Jobs, Immigrant Rights, & Justice

[gmoke]

Please note that gmoke at world… is merely passing on this information.  Contact vignesh at betterfutureproject.org for more information about this event

Boston RISE for Climate, Jobs, Immigrant Rights, & Justice
September 08, 2018•12:00 PM
East Boston Memorial Park•143 Porter St, , East Boston, MA 02128
Host Contact Info: vignesh at betterfutureproject.org

BOSTON: Nos Laventamos Por El Clima, Los Trabajos, La Inmigración y La Justicia. (Español abajo. Translación será dado en Español durante todo el evento / Spanish translation provided throughout entire event.)

We are at a crossroads. Our planet, livelihoods, and democracy are under attack. The cost of climate change is impossible to ignore. Just in the U.S. in 2017, there were 16 extreme weather catastrophes that caused over $1 billion in damages. The human toll of climate change is unbearable, and on the frontlines of this crisis are low-wage workers, immigrants, low-income people, people of color, and Indigenous peoples. But frontline communities have also always been at the forefront of change, and on Sept 8 they will RISE for justice.

Right here in East Boston--a majority Latinx immigrant community--the sea level is rising, the streets are flooding, laborers are being hospitalized from heat waves, hurricanes are displacing families from their home countries, and now Eversource plans to build a high-voltage electric substation in a densely populated, flood prone area next to 8 million gallons of jet fuel, posing a serious risk of explosion. The frontline of the climate crisis is in our backyard, and MA residents are using this global day of action to stand in solidarity with the community and GreenRoots’ grassroots resistance against this facility and promote safer, greener, and more equitable alternatives.

On Sept 8, a coalition of over 20 faith, labor, racial justice, immigrant rights, youth, climate action, and environmental justice groups are coming together in East Boston to accomplish two goals:

1. Halt the proposed Eversource electric substation that threatens the community.  This project must be reevaluated and offer a more inclusive process for community input, including adequate language translation.

2. Join forces across movements to build long-term collective power for Climate, Jobs, Immigrant Rights, and Justice in MA. We demand:
a. 100% Clean and Renewable Future
b. Economic Opportunity for Everyone
c. Prioritizing a Just Resilience, Relief and Recovery
d. Union Wages that Support a Family
e. Pollution-Free Communities and Workplaces
f. Protection of Workers
g. Dignity, Respect, & Permanent Protection for all Immigrants

To change everything it takes everyone. On Sept. 8, as governors, mayors, and corporate reps meet at the Global Climate Action Summit in CA—and as our own Governor & Legislature in MA continue to accept money from the fossil fuel industry and then fail to enact common sense climate and immigration reforms—we’ll prove that real climate leadership rises from the grassroots up and doesn’t leave anyone behind.

SCHEDULE:
11:30 - 12pm: Gather near gazebo, HONK! music
12 - 1pm: RALLY
1 - 4pm: PEOPLE’S SCHOOL (outdoor teach-ins, art activities, music, games for kids, and more!)
4 - 5pm: MARCH to proposed Eversource substation site & epic aerial photo along Chelsea Creek

East Boston Memorial Park is directly next to Airport T stop on the Blue Line (1 minute walk). There will be food trucks, Spanish & ASL translation, childcare during the People's School, and a playground for kids to play! Please contact bianca at betterfutureproject.org about any accessibility questions, an FAQ is forthcoming.