Scroll Down On Past Events To See Photos, Videos, Resources And Links From Past Community Workshops
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Scroll Down On Past Events To See Photos, Videos, Resources And Links From Past Community Workshops 〰️
ShotSpotter 103: The Cambridge Surveillance Ordinance and Other Local Things
Scroll down for the Recording!!!!
ShotSpotter 103 is the third event in The Black Response’s (TBR) educational series on ShotSpotter technology and its impact on our communities.
ShotSpotter is marketed as a gunshot detection system that uses microphone sensors to identify, locate, and alert police to potential gunfire. ShotSpotter is produced by SoundThinking and funded in Cambridge by a grant from the federal government, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, not paid through the Cambridge Police Department. These sensors are primarily installed in Black and brown neighborhoods, with most in The Port and Riverside (Coast) neighborhoods. ShotSpotter has been active in Cambridge since its installation in 2013–2014.
This event will focus specifically on ShotSpotter’s implementation in Cambridge, examining the Massachusetts Wiretapping Law, The City of Cambridge’s Technology Surveillance Ordinance, and the use of ShotSpotter in Cambridge, analyzed through data. We have an incredible lineup of expert speakers, including:
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler – Cambridge City Councillor & Event Facilitator
Stop ShotSpotter Coalition Camberville
Prof. Robert Vargas & Gabriel Rojas – University of Chicago
Jonathan Manes, Esq. – MacArthur Justice Center
Kelcey Duggan – Community Resource Hub
Become a war tax resister! Let’s not pay for wars and killing! Find out how.
The Black Response has partnered with the New England branch of the National War Tax Resistance (NWTRCC) to host a workshop on how to become a war tax resister.
This event will include:
An introduction to the basics of war tax resistance.
A discussion of the different methods of war tax resistance.
And the risks associated with each approach.
The war in Gaza has sparked an exponential increase in war tax resistance, particularly among younger people. Now is the time to act locally and learn strategies to resist the war machine.
Contact us at general@theblackresponsecambridge.com or follow/message us on Instagram: @theblackresponsecambridge.
Decolonizing the History Curricula in Our Schools: A Crucial Step in Achieving Reparations
White supremacy is coded into laws and practices of the US, yet few of us learn about this in the course of our education.
What did you learn in school about slavery in the US and its continuing effects in our society? Did your books and teachers talk about how cotton production by enslaved Africans fueled the Industrial Revolution and built the very economic base of our country? Did you learn about the pivotal role of Black soldiers in the Civil War? What about reconstruction and the multiracial governments that flourished briefly until being violently destroyed? What did you learn about Jim Crow and convict leasing? Did your history books cover redlining? What about the GI Bill?
Most of us did not learn any of this in school, making it almost impossible to understand the call for reparations for people whose ancestors were enslaved here in the US and who continue to feel its effects.
Come listen in as our roundtable of scholars/educators talk about the history curricula in our schools and how it continues to reinforce white supremacy. There will be time for questions, too, so come prepared with yours.
Professor Jemadari Kamara (UMass Boston)
author of State of the Race – Creating Our 21st Century
Professor Lawrence Blum (UMass Boston)
author of High Schools, Race, and America's Future
Professor Donald Yacovone (Harvard University)
author of Teaching White Supremacy
Progressive Electoral Strategy Workshop in Cambridge
The Black Response (TBR), in collaboration with Our Revolution Cambridge (ORC) and the Working Families Party of New England (WFP), is hosting a virtual workshop focused on: What will it take to build a progressive electoral strategy at the municipal level in Cambridge, MA?
If you're politics are progressive, you’re passionate about local electoral organizing and want to engage in meaningful work in Cambridge and Somerville this year, this workshop is for you!
There will be three short presentations followed by small group discussions. Come prepared to respond to the following questions:
What do you think about the issues presented and working across multiple issues?
What would you need to engage in coalitional organizing across multiple issues?
Who are some potential candidates we might support? And what are their qualifications?
Join us in creating a progressive movement for change at the local level
BIPOC Organizers mixer
The Black Response (TBR) is hosting a BIPOC Mixer at the Cambridge Innovation Center (245 Main St. Cambridge, MA, 02142).
This free event is an opportunity for leftist organizers, abolitionist activists, and radical researchers who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color (BIPOC) to connect, build relationships, and share good vibes.
We’ll provide refreshments, you bring vibes! Please register to ensure we have enough food for everyone. Please spread the word— the more, the merrier! Share this event with your friends and colleagues.
TRANSFORMATIVE JUSTICE 101
TBR is once again collaborating with Unity Circles to host a Transformative Justice 101 virtual workshop. This workshop aims to introduce people to the concept of transformative justice, a way of thinking that addresses the underlying causes of harm and injustice.
In this workshop, we will introduce Transformative Justice and explore how we can start practicing Transformative Justice skills with ourselves. We will explore self-accountability and use the restorative discipline window to help us understand where we are at and what opportunities exist for us to shift our mindsets so that we do not continue to replicate the ways of being we have been subjected to by oppressive systems.
Movement for alternatives - What’s happening in Massachusetts?
Since 2020, The Black Response has committed to researching, advocating, and implementing alternatives to harmful public safety and carceral systems. TBR is organizing this panel to catch up on what is happening with the movement for alternatives in Massachusetts.
Post Election - Support Space & Community Potluck
TBR collaborated with Unity Circles to put together a post-election community space to process the election results. Each person processes differently. So, we will have a few different stations.
Station Descriptions:
Podmapping & Safety Planning: Explore the tool of podmapping to identify the relationships of support for this moment and beyond.
Explore the tool of safety planning to proactively support wellbeing and safety in challenging conditions. (Facilitated)
Plotting: Reflect and share ideas about what’s next, given the state of things, through engaging a series of prompts. (Unfacilitated)
Art Space: A space to create and express as we navigate an uncertain time. Various art supplies as well as Vent Diagrams will be available to interrogate contradictions. (Unfacilitated)
Chill Space: A quiet space available for when you need to just be. (Unfacilitated)
Shotspotter 101 (Spanish) Evento de Taller Comunitario
En esta oportunidad vamos a reunir a la populación en Cambridge de habla hispana para hablar sobre este dispositivo de audio vigilancia que la policía de Cambridge usa, la cual pretende hacer un trabajo el cual no solo es innecesario, pero trae con el implicaciones de poder violar nuestros derechos de privacidad como habitantes de esta ciudad.
Palestine: Thinking Global and Acting Local - Against Genocide / Against Apartheid
The Black Response is collaborating with BDS Boston, Muslim Justice League, PYM Boston, and JVP Boston, to host a community education event on Palestine. The framing for this panel is Thinking Global and Acting Local. We have invited speakers that represent various levels on the global scale, with Cambridge as its center; as Cambridge is where we are organizing from.
Schools not surveillance - Back to School Event
The Black Response, The Spot, and Justice4Housing are joining forces to provide school supplies, clothing and hygiene products for CPS students and the families of Cambridge.
Shotspotter 101 - Police Audio Surveillance
JOIN US!! as we explore one of the most intrusive and controversial devices of the 21st century. Learn and support us and other organizations nationwide to end the contract with Soundthinking.
Justice 4 Housing - Far from Home Report
This workshop you will discover how we were able to educate Public Housing Authorities about the collateral consequences their discriminatory housing policies had on communities of color
We are proud that our hard work and commitment have been recognized by the Dept of Housing and Urban Development. 6 out of our 12 Policy Recs from our Far From Home report have been adopted by HUD
How Your 501(c)(3) Can Influence Policy for the Greater Good
Nonprofits have a close-up view of community needs and can and should take advantage of their right to influence law and policy. After this workshop, you will have a clear understanding of what advocacy activities your 501(c)(3) can engage in, what communications count as lobbying, and how to maximize your non-lobbying advocacy.
Navigating Cambridge Resources
In this 90-minute training, you will use the Cambridge
Resources Ecosystem Map and the NEW Find It
Cambridge to:
Gain a basic understanding of how to find
and access Cambridge resources
Learn how to find what is available instead
of memorizing everything
Practice and participate in small group activities
Identify potential partners
Network and make connections with others
Racial Justice Collective - Colombian abolitionist
A fishbowl is a form of participatory facilitation in which a few active participants, a smaller group (up to 6 people), sit in the center to discuss the topic while the rest of the participants sit in a circle around the outside of the fishbowl to observe and can take turns joining the center if they wish.
De-Escalation Training
Students learn skills and best practices for creating and maintaining a safe environment while de-escalating situations with strangers and people they know.
Instructors use scenario-based learning and role play to highlight safety measures that can be used in real-life situations. Scenarios are taught at levels from low threat to high threat to show a range of risks. Students get a chance to practice their skills with instructors who play the role of escalating individuals.
Skills Taught:
• Verbal and nonverbal communication strategies for de-escalation
• Adrenaline management techniques for self-care
• Strategic positioning and body language to enhance physical safety
• Assessment skills to determine the course of action
• Using verbal contracts to reinforce boundaries
American Roulette - “The Social Logic of Death Penalty Sentencing Trials”
Dr. Kaufman’s 2020 book, with University of California Press, is the first systematic ethnography of death penalty trials in the United States. Taking readers inside capital courtrooms across the country, Kaufman shows that the “super due process” accorded capital is the system’s best attempt at fair and impartial criminal sentencing, but fails to create justice.
What about the dangerous few?
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Debate Night
Our objective is to create a dynamic space within Cambridge's communities, especially Black and Brown ones, to have impactful and productive conversations on how to tackle issues of crime and violence that affect us. Please join us if you want to be a part of the conversation.
Street Medic Workshop
In this workshop, we will share practical knowledge of life-saving skills for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), bleeding control, stroke recognition, and frostbite. This workshop is led by Symphony, a capable member of TBR and Ujimaa Medics (Chicago, IL).
What keeps us safe?
What might a world beyond policing look like? What would it feel like? What would it require of us? Join us on Jan. 11th at 6 pm for a community conversation focused on the question: What keeps us safe?
NATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY
Join The Black Response Cambridge for a rally honoring the National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality. Hear from speakers raising awareness about the history of police violence in America and provide political education about the contemporary abolition movement.