January 2017 Issue #8
Mutual Aid and Constant Vigilance in the Age ofTrump Crossing the Rubicon So it begins. Already, the rise of Donald Trump has set off an unprecedented wave of hate crimes. According to information from the Southern Poverty Law Center and the FBI, the occurrence of hate crimes rose 577 percent in ten days immediately following
the election. The President-Elect’s lukewarm disavowal of white supremacy and the corporate media’s hand-washing of their utter failure has led us to a new and uncharted territory. Many around the world are wondering if the American Experiment is drawing to a close.
Already, we are witnessing implicit threats to organizations supporting people of color; women’s health; the LGBTQ community; undocumented workers; public education;
freedom of the press; climate change and countless others. Since Trump’s rise to power, the stock price of Goldman Sachs (the very embodiment of corporate greed and reckless capitalism) has risen to its highest point since the Financial Crisis of 2008. We are entering a time characterized by the vicious union of the corporation and the state: Fascism.
Resisting Trump's Regime As we cross into strange and unfamiliar waters, our task is as clear as ever: FIGHT FASCISM WHEREVER IT EXISTS. Rather than re-hashing the disgusting details of Donald Trump’s latest cabinet appointee or hyper-fixating on the 21st Century nightmare of his Twitter feed, the editors of The Heretic are deciding to instead focus on pointing organizations that are either
explicitly or implicitly under threat from the Trump Regime. We have also gathered information on organizations that advance the fight for anti-oppression and a livable planet for all. Defending the remnants of a healthy society, however critical, must be done in conjunction with mobilizing allies against this existential threat.Our endurance as a movement is inextricably linked with our ability to engage in struggle alongside one another. Only through resistance will we survive.
Migration Throughout his campaign Donald Trump stoked the fires of xenophobia, islamophobia, and nativism. Amid the xenophobic campaign messages reverberating across the political landscape, Rutland residents have been preparing to receive 100 refugees fleeing from Syria and Iraq part of the largest refugee crisis since WWII. Rutland Welcomes is an organization working to establish and maintain a welcoming environment for refugees across Rutland despite vocal opposition from the majority of that city’s Board of Alderman. Working in tandem with the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program, Rutland Welcomes has also launched 20 committees to tackle solutions for transportation, education, and employment as well as organizing community events to smooth the move-in
process and facilitate neighbor-to-neighbor dialogue. Volunteers may sign up for free Arabic language classes, a roving Welcome Wagon, and even provide orientations to ease access to medical and children’s services for the new arrivals to the Green Mountains. Visit rutlandwelcomes.org to get involved. In addition to refugees arriving from the war-torn areas of the world affected by American Imperialism, Vermont also hosts an estimated 1,500 undocumented migrant workers, many of whom have traveled from Central America to work in Vermont’s renowned dairy industry, often working 6080 hours a week in unsafe working conditions for little pay. Following the 2009 death of twenty year old JosÊ Obeth Santiz Cruz on a Franklin County farm, Migrant Justice/Justicia Migrante was formed to advocate for and advance the rights of
undocumented workers across the state. Recipients of the 2015 VT-NEA Human and Civil Rights Award; Migrant Justice has four essential demands from the workers: dignified work and quality of housing; freedom of movement and access to transportation; freedom from discrimination; and access to healthcare.
This platform has led to a string of victories for Migrant Justice including the release of
several organizers from detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Recently, their Milk with Dignity campaign led to a landmark (and legally binding) agreement with Ben & Jerry’s to ensure workers in the ice cream giant’s dairy supply chain have fair and safe working environments while also mandating independent monitoring of working conditions and grievances. Visit migrantjustice.net to get involved.
Racial Justice In the years since the uprisings in Ferguson and Baltimore, the Black Lives Matter movement has grown from sporadic street protests into a powerful force on the landscape of grassroots politics in America. Locally, Black Lives MatterVermont (BLM-VT) has two chapters operating in Chittenden County and southern Vermont
respectively. Each of these chapters is working to eradicate the false notion of the Green Mountain State as a color-blind progressive paradise and establish systems of accountability, representation, and racial justice. In solidarity with the people of Ferguson, Vermont’s chapter of today’s preeminent racial justice movement reiterates the Demands of Ferguson Action! and calls for an immediate end to police brutality as well as freedom from America’s system of mass incarceration. One of the only organizations featured in this issue to possess a Strategic Plan, BLM-VT maintains intermediate and long-term goals of building safe spaces for people of color in Vermont and “rebuilding political systems ensuring oppression-free legislation” respectively. Most recently, BLM-VT has been working to counter several racially and ethnically motivated incidents at Saint Michael’s College that many student leaders are considering acts of hate. These incidents
include shouts of racial epithets and the spray painting of swastikas over Migrant Justice posters on campus as well as the variety of aggressive and hostile experiences of SMC people of color in recent weeks. Visit blacklivesmattervermont.com to learn how to get involved.
As BLM-VT forges the path toward racial justice in America, another organization is working to organize and mobilize white allies to support people of color and build
the critical analysis required for white allies to dismantle the systems and ideas of white supremacy. Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) operates to build inclusive communities of allies with a culture of “calling in� that seeks to bring previously unengaged community members into discussions that challenge white privilege without polarizing or otherwise turning away potential allies. Part of a broad nationwide network of SURJ offices and campaigns in most states, SURJ Central VT recent activities include shutting down the Montpelier branch of TD Bank and demanding divestment from fossil fuel infrastructure such as the Dakota Access Pipeline (the effects of climate change driven by such projects have disproportionately impacted communities of color). Ongoing events include a monthly Racial Justice Community Organizing Film Series in addition to regular meetings of
community members. All members of the community (particularly white allies to the racial justice movement) are encouraged to visit facebook.com/CvtSURJ to get involved and learn the latest news. Even as organizations and individuals work to build networks and spaces to address community racism and discrimination; institutional racism remains embedded in our systems of government, policing, and legislature. Working to painstakingly address these inequities is Justice For All, a membership-based nonprofit organization that partners with businesses and individuals to monitor “decision points� such as arresting officers, prosecutors, and other data sources in the criminal justice system that may be propagating racial bias. Using the data coming out of these points of discretion, Justice For All hopes to encourage a systemic shift toward metrics-
based accountability and transparency for law enforcement and criminal justice officials. Operating with a vision of “… a nation where our judicial system and peace officers are accountable to our citizenry,” Justice For All hopes to foster a “… crosscultural understanding and trust” between grassroots communities and existing systems of power to establish civilian oversight of law enforcement. Their membership program offers multi-level partnerships that grant businesses and individuals access to member-only sections of their website, a Justice For All newsletter, as well as event and activity updates. Visit justiceforallvt.org to learn more. H
Featured Cartoon by Michelle Sayles, Visit michellesayles.com for more cartoons, graphic novelizations, and artwork.