Nashville Peace & Justice E-Blast May 3

The Nashville Peace & Justice Center regularly shares a listing of area peace-progressive events. We share it here, and the group encourages people to share the information widely. Please attend and support the events — do your part to help us all turn Tennessee purple!

Among the happenings in Music City this week, the local Showing Up for Racial Justice group meets tonight, a documentary on urban gardening screens, a lecture addresses the mixing of religion and politics, and NPJC hosts a discussion on welcoming the differently abled into the social justice activist sphere. There is lots more, so read on!

To submit events, click here.
UPCOMING EVENTS.  
Before you attend an event listed here, you may want to check the Nashville Peace Calendar (not affiliated with NPJC); it sometimes has more recently updated information about the same events.

5 May Thurs 6pm. Nuclear weapons: Bad Foreign Policy and Bad Economics. Potluck dinner. Ralph Hutchison of OREPA, visiting from Oak Ridge, will give us an overview. Friends Meeting House, 530 26th Ave. N. Meeting co-sponsored by NPJC and Vets for Peace. (This is a potluck dinner, but no one is coordinating the food plans, so try to bring something that you think no one else will bring. Be imaginative!)

7 May Sat 9am-4pm. Reconnecting Workshop. $35-$45; includes lunch. Experiential workshop, conducted by Rebecca Selove, designed for people who are concerned about the environment, relationships with others, and the health of our communities. It is largely based on the “Work That Reconnects” created by Joanna Macy and others, incorporating principles from systems theory, deep ecology, ecopsychology, and psychosynthesis. Third floor, in the Bridge Building. Free parking in Lot R. More info.

7 May Sat 9:30am to 6pm. SOCM Training Day. Friends Meeting House, 530 26th Ave. N. More info and and registration.

7 May Sat 10am. Whites Creek Cleanup. Lunch and snacks will be provided. Meet at Hartman Park picnic shelters. Please wear work clothes. If you know how to swim, you can bring your canoe or john boat. More info.

12 May Thurs 9:30-11:30am. End Prisons-for-Profit. We will carry protest signs on the sidewalk in front of the office of Corrections Corporation of America, 10 Burton Hills Blvd, Nashville, Tennessee 37215, More info.

12 May Thurs 6pm. “Rekindling Democracy.” Banquet of NOAH (Nashville Organizing Action and Hope). $50 and up. Meharry Cal Turner Family Center, 1011 21st Ave North. Speaker: Reverend Anthony Thompson. Music: Jonell Mosser. Tickets and more info at noahtn.org/banquet2016.

12 May Thurs 6-8pm. Racing Extinction. Film screening, suggested donation $5. Third floor of the Bridge Building. Free parking in Lot R. More about the film and about this screening.

12 May Thurs. Nashville Peace Coalition is not meeting this month; we have enough other activities going on. (For instance, the rally in front of CCA this morning.)

14 May Sat 9am-2pm. Gideon’s Army training on Youth Violence, Listening and Restorative Conferencing. Westwood Baptist Church University Center. Lunch is potluck. Spaces are limited so RSVP quickly if you are interested. During this two part [sic] session, participants will understand and analyze the current Juvenile Justice system. Participants will establish relationships between court process and victim, offender, family and community harm.

• Part I: How does Davidson County Juvenile Courts deal with youth who commit crimes? What process do youth go through in the juvenile and adult court system?
• Part II: How are those harmed (victims and victims’ families) personally affected by the current criminal justice system? How are victims cared for in the juvenile and adult justice systems? During this part of the session, we circle up with families and youth who have had experiences in the system to share stories and listen from the heart. From here, we reflect on what we’ve learned during our Restorative Justice and Circle trainings and discuss what seems to be working currently and what we can vision for a stronger tomorrow.
• Part III: Looking deeper into community harm, session three is yet another fast paced, intensive training where we learn how to understand and describe the community, thereby allowing our organizing to be personal and within the context. We will learn how to have full community participation in planning and carrying out assessments, how to collect information about both assets the community has and problems the community is facing. We will then also learn how to conduct interviews and surveys.

18 May Wed 6-9pm. Feminists Social Gathering. 100 Vine Ct.

19 May Thurs 8pm (doors open at 7pm). The Extraordinary Adventures Of Mr West In The Land Of The Bolsheviks. Tickets $10. The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 623 7th Ave South. This comedy film from 1924 may have some interesting political content. See descriptions by Belcourt and IMDB.

19-21 May Thurs-Sat. Protest the Franklin Rodeo at Williamson County Fair, 4215 Long Ln, Franklin, TN, about half an hour south of Nashville. Rodeos are cruel and dangerous events for the animals involved. More info.

4-5 June. Cumberland / Green River Bioregional Council Spring Gathering and Plant Giveaway Party, at Doug and Claudia’s farm, about two and a half hours southwest of Nashville. Camp out, music, bonfire, potluck, opportunities to learn about solar and other cool stuff. More info.

26 June Sunday rescheduled to 10 July Sun. Climate Mobilization. Street marches and other activities in many cities. More info. Nothing planned specifically for Nashville yet, but watch this space.

SELECTED RECURRING EVENTS

WEEKLY:

Tuesdays. Beautiful Eyes Ministry. Food and clothing for the needy. Outreaches on Tuesday nights at 7:30pm at Legislative Plaza, 301 6th Ave N. Contact and otherinformation.

Every Thursday: DRINKING LIBERALLY, 6:30pm at the Flying Saucer, 111 10th Avenue S # 310. More info at http://livingliberally.org/drinking/chapters/TN/nashville.

Every weekend: FOOD NOT BOMBS needs cooks on Saturdays, and servers and dishwashers on Sundays. For details call Eva at 615-944-3950 or email nashvillefoodnotbombs@gmail.com.

SEMIMONTHLY:

First and third Saturday of each month, 9am to noon: Edgehill Free Store, 1502 Edgehill Avenue (additional parking lot behind the adjacent house). Shoppers are served breakfast and then may shop and/or donate. Each member receives a membership card and is able to take a set number of items per month depending on available inventory. Just household items: kitchen tools, small appliances, electronics, bedding, kitchen & bath linens, toys, books, personal hygiene items, and cleaning supplies. Due to space limitations we do not accept clothes, furniture or large appliances. More info.

Second and fourth Monday of each month: NON-VIOLENT COMMUNICATION 6 to 8:15 pm. Free training group, at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 1808 Woodmont Blvd. This group is open to all and meets in the red Morgan House behind the church. Contact Diane Allison at sparky_allison@hotmail.com or Pete Kopcsak at greatcr@gmail.com. Additional times and locations for NVC, and more information, can be found at nvcnashville.org and at nvcnashville.org/find-a-group/.

Third and fourth Thursdays of each month, 6-9 pm. WORKERS’ DIGNITY. Know Your Labor Rights workshops and intake for new cases of wage theft. Volunteers accompany workers through the wage recovery process. More than $200,000 recuperated in the last four years. Join with Nashville’s first workers’ center to build economic justice and stand with a worker-led movement. Location: 3013B Nolensville Pike. More info: 615.669.6679, www.workersdignity.org, or Facebook page “Workers’ Dignity Project.”

MONTHLY:

Date varies entirely. NPJC Roundtable Discussion. Around once a month; watch for more specific announcements in the “upcoming events” section earlier in this Eblast. Generally we have a panel discussion by 1-4 speakers, followed by a question and answer period. Generally we have light refreshments. Most often the location is Friends Meeting House, 530 26th Ave. N. People who will be on the speakers’ panel are urged to take a look at our instructions on NPJC’s audio-video equipment.

22nd of each month, 11:45am – 1pm. Suicide Awareness Vigil. On Legislative Plaza, to raise awareness of the fact that on average, 22 veterans of the US military forces commit suicide every day. Organized by Matthew Odell. Bring some visual aid that says “22” on it.

Some Saturday in most months, 6:30pm. L-CLUB. This is a potluck dinner group with varying locations, speakers, and topics; see the web page for details. The “L” stands for “liberal,” and the group describes itself as “liberal” and “progressive,” even though many of its meetings are devoted to nostalgia, or to supporting extremely conservative Democrats and a kinder, gentler capitalism. But a few of the meetings are actually devoted to current progressive causes, and those will be mentioned in the events section when your eblast editor is aware of them.

First Sunday of each month, 2-4pm. TN NORML meeting at First UU Church, 1808 Woodmont Blvd. More info.

First Tuesday of most months, 6-7:45pm. Nashville Urban Herb Co-op meets at the Richland Park Library. Contact Peacescapes@aol.com or see website.

First Thursday of most months: VETERANS FOR PEACE. 7 pm, at International Market and Restaurant, 2010 Belmont Blvd. All people (not just vets) are welcome to attend. For more information contact Joey King, jbkranger@aol.com, 615-485-1616.

First Saturday of most months, 5pm. Feminist Trivia Night. Lipstick Lounge, 1400 Woodland St, Nashville, TN 37206. Sorry, this venue is restricted to those 21 years and older. (Wheelchair accessible plus specified parking in the back. Ramp on sidewalk. Bus #20 stops right in front, #26 stops six blocks away, #4 stops three blocks away. Access Ride can drop you at the front door.) Submit questions in advance at this link. Your question can be about any topic, with a focus on women and gender non-conforming people: Film, theater, television, music, media, art, literature, language, history, politics, global feminism, activism, science, health, sports, leisure, pop culture, sexuality, sex, gender, pioneers, inventors, entrepreneurs, etc. We especially need submissions that highlight local social justice and gender justice efforts underway in Nashville.

Second Tuesday, 6:30-8pm. Nashville Organized for Action & Hope. At “Fifteenth Ave Baptist Church,” which is at 1203 9th Ave North (not on 15th Ave). NOAH is a faith led coalition that is multi-racial and interdenominational comprised of congregations, community organizations, and labor unions that work to give voice to traditionally marginalized people. NOAH engages ordinary people in the political and economic decisions affecting their lives, acting as a unified voice for the faith and justice community to act on its values in the public arena.

Second Tuesday of the month, 6pm. SEED MONEY SUPPERS. Until further notice, this is at the Wild Cow Restaurant in East Nashville, 1896 Eastland Avenue. Buy your $10 ticket at the event. Several startups will present their ideas; you vote on which one you like. The winner gets 3/4 of the proceeds. (The other 1/4 pays the expenses for the event.) More info, including this month’s location, at the website.

Second Thursday of each month, 7pm. SIERRA CLUB of Middle Tennessee meets at Radnor Lake Visitor Center, 1160 Otter Creek Road, Nashville. Note: you must enter from Granny White Pike. web page

Second Thursday of each month, 6:30pm. Nashville Peace Coalition meets downstairs at Friends Meeting House, 530 26th Ave. N. We meet to plan rallies and other actions for peace and related causes.

Second Thursday of most months. 7pm. AMERICANS UNITED FOR THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. Location: West Police Precinct, 5500 Charlotte Pike. Further info: Charles Sumner (615-646-9946) or president@nashville-AU.org or nashville-au.org.

Second Saturday of most months. CITIZENS’ CLIMATE LOBBY, 11am to 1pm at Goodwill Lifsey Center, 937 Herman Street. Generally the meeting is from 11 to noon, and then at noon there is a national conference call by phone, with some speaker on a topic of current interest. More info at this link.

Third Tuesday of each month, except in summer. 6:30pm. TENNESSEANS FOR ALTERNATIVES TO THE DEATH PENALTY. Second Presbyterian Church, 3511 Belmont Blvd, 37215, in the Jr. High Room on the first floor.

Third Thursday of most months, Labor Luncheon 11:30am at Picadilly Cafeteria, 874 Murfreesboro Pike, Nashville, TN 37217. An open meeting of the Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, AFL-CIO. Community and politicians welcome. More info.

Third Thursday of most months. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL. Usually at 6pm or 6:30pm. Location varies. Check website for dates, times, locations.

Fourth Monday of most months, 6pm. RAM (Recycling Advocates of Middle Tennessee) is a research and education-based environmental organization. RAM advocates the development of recycling techniques that foster industrial improvement, new jobs, prosperity, awareness, health, a cleaner environment, and a reduction in land filling. To attend our meetings, call or e-mail 2 days in advance at 227-3499 or karencisler@bellsouth.net.

Fourth Thursday of each month, 6:30pm. Program Committee of the Nashville Peace and Justice Center meets downstairs at Friends Meeting House, 530 26th Ave. N. The NPJC is an umbrella organization, providing some services to a number of other activist organizations in Nashville. The Program Committee plans the NPJC’s own events, such as roundtable discussions or tabling at the festivals organized by other organizations.

Last Tuesday of most months, 2-3 pm. Task Force on Refugees & Immigrants. Room 318, West End United Methodist Church, 2200 West End Ave (entrance on 23rd Ave). The purpose of the organization is to improve community awareness about issues related to refugees and other immigrants, enhance appreciation of cultural and ethnic diversity, serve as a networking avenue for those who serve and advocate for refugees and immigrants, and provide support for organizations that disseminate information to assist refugees and immigrants in obtaining essential services that help them integrate into our communities. More info.