Note: Popular Resistance will be organizing a contingent that brings together our various projects attending the People’s Climate March on September 21, 2014. Look for more on that in later updates and emails. In addition, Popular Resistance is helping to organize the New York City Climate Convergence: People, Planet and Peace Over Profit on September 19-21. The objective is to build and strengthen an environmental movement that addresses the root causes of the climate crises; a social-economic system that values profits above people, planet and peace. As the corporate captured UN proposes false solutions like carbon trading and sets meager greenhouse reduction targets, we will show the world what tackling global warming from the bottom up looks like. Below is an update from the organizers of the People’s Climate March. KZ
We’ve made some incredible progress in the last couple weeks. There are now more than 700 organizations signed up to participate in the People’s Climate March, and we’re less than six weeks away from the big day. Please read through this email carefully–to make September 21 a success, we need YOUR help.
Here’s what’s in this email:
- March Logistics Update
- Recruit Bus Coordinators
- August 21 Recruitment Storm
- New Partner Engagement Toolkit!
- People’s Climate Tour
- New art space
- Upcoming events, calls and trainings
Here’s the short version:
We don’t have a march route yet–it’s still being negotiated with the NYPD–but we’re confident we’ll reach agreement on a good one in midtown Manhattan at some point soon. The good news is that we’re expecting over 400 buses from out of town to roll in on Sept. 21, and we need YOUR help recruiting bus captains as well as offers for housing in the NYC area. We’re also organizing a big recruitment storm on August 21, and we need your organization to commit to sending out an email on that day to make it a success – we even have a new partner toolkit with sample email blasts and much, much more. Finally, We’re taking Bill Mckibben, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Standra Steingraber and more on the People’s Climate Tour to Boston and New York City to recruit for the march – we need your help filling seats.
Read below for more details….
1. March Logistics Update
We don’t have a march route yet–it’s still being negotiated with the NYPD. We’re asking for a starting point at Columbus Circle and we’re looking at routes through midtown Manhattan, including possibly through Times Square. The NYPD has not closed the door on any routes, but has not committed to any of them, either. We’re confident we’ll come to agreement on a good route in midtown Manhattan, but it may take longer than we expected.
As soon as the details of the assembly location and march route are worked out, we’ll post it on the website and send notice to everybody, so stay tuned!
2. Recruit Bus Coordinators
We’re short on bus and train coordination and we need your help with recruitment! Please spread the word to all your networks, and if you’re talking to partners, ask them if they can organize a bus (or 2 or 3 or 10). If you have contact info for people you think would be interested, you can pass that to sam@peoplesclimate.org, and if you have people who are committed, pass them to Vanessa at buses@peoplesclimate.org.
We’re also now actively recruiting hosts (individual and institutional) who are willing to provide housing for out-of-town participants in the People’s Climate March. If you or your supporters are individuals with space in your home, please visit humanhotel.comand register as a host. If you live near NYC are able to offer housing for groups or in community, please fill out this form.
3. August 21 Recruitment Storm
On August 21, one month out from the People’s Climate March, we’re launching the People’s Climate March Organizing Storm–on that day, and the several following it, we need you to recruit as many of your members and supporters as possible to the March. That means sending out an email blast, posting to social media, flyering in your community, and more. To get involved in the surge, please fill out this quick survey and we’ll send you some materials, sample email and social media language your way.
4. New Partner Engagement Toolkit!
Hooray! Wonder where you can find everything you need to know about recruitment, volunteering, transportation, housing, building buzz for the march, and more? Look no further – we have a new Partner Engagement Toolkit where you can find all that stuff as well as sample tweets, facebook posts, posters, flyers, email blasts. You name it, we made it. Check it out here.
5. People’s Climate Tour
We need your help filling seats for the People’s Climate Tour stops in Boston (8/22)and New York (9/12). You and your members will hear from a diverse and inspiring array of social movement leaders like Bill McKibben, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Sandra Steingraber, and more on the intersection of climate change and social justice, and how you can get involved in this movement of movements. We’ll be hitting the road next week, to build buzz and get ready for the People’s Climate March, and hosting an open conference call with some of the speakers in the coming weeks. Outreach materials can be found here.
6. New art space
In addition to the PCM Organizing Center in Manhattan – we’ve also opened a creative production space in Brooklyn. It’s open to PCM partners and volunteers for things like art builds, creative projects, trainings, workshops, special events and more. We’ll have lots of donated arts materials and common tools. We’re partnering with Mayday Space, a new community center opening in Bushwick, which will remain open at this location after the People’s Climate March as a new space for climate justice organizing in NYC.
Visit Peoples Climate Art @ Mayday at 214 Starr Street, Brooklyn Currently open Tues-Fri 3-8pm, Sat/Sun 12-8pm
7. Upcoming events, calls and trainings
Wednesday, August 13
Friday, August 15
That’s it for now. Thanks your commitment and your action – see you in the streets in six weeks!
Onwards,
The People’s Climate March Team
More Information: People’s Climate March