WHOWEARE
SURJ SAN MATEO is a group of people who organize, mobilize and educate white folks and other folks with privilege for racial justice in San Mateo County.
We are part of a multiracial movement and the SURJ National Network with over 175 chapters across the country.
We work with accountability partners led by people of color to show up in the ways they request and are supporting issues such as housing justice, immigration rights, environmental justice and
reimagining public safety.
Read more about what SURJ San Mateo
has done in our community in the
May 2021 Advocate Newsletter.
SURJ San Mateo in Action
RWC City Hall
RWC City Hall
Millbrae City Hall
RWC City Hall
Educational Opportunities
Celebrate Asian American Culture
AANHPI HERITAGE MONTH
Saturday, May 13 @ 2:00-5:00 PM
Celebrate the rich heritage and arts of the AANHPI community with performances by local youth and adults, cultural demonstrations, and crafts while supporting local business and nonprofits. This free event will be held on Saturday, May 13, from 2:00-5:00 pm at the San Carlos Youth Center. Activities include Chinese calligraphy, Tai Chi demonstrations, origami, clay crafts, Indian Bharatanatyam dance, and much more! Sign up for this fun-filled, family event here!
Community Foundation of San Carlos (CFSC) has put together a plethora of books, articles, videos and podcasts to educate us about Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians & Pacific Islanders (AANHPI). For more information on their vibrant culture and history, check out this comprehensive list of resources.
Book Discussion
SLAVERY IN NEW YORK
Thursday, May 25 @ 7:00 PM
To all those who think slavery was a Southern thing, think again. “Slavery in New York” is a compilation of multiple contributors that was published to accompany a major exhibit at the New York Historical Society. The 1991 discovery of the African Burial Ground in lower Manhattan reminded Americans that slavery in the United States was not merely a phenomenon of the antebellum South. In fact, for most of its history ~ fully two centuries ~ New York was a slave city. For a good proportion of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it was the largest slave city on the continent.
The book demonstrates how slavery shaped the day-to-day experience of New Yorkers, black and white, and how it propelled New York to become the commercial and financial power it is today.
EmbraceRace
EmbraceRace has many resources for talking to children about racial injustice. One such resource is their conversation with three child and family psychologists who collaborated to write the children’s book, “Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice.” Published by the American Psychological Association, the book follows a white family and a black family as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man. The book includes many resources for parents and educators including child-friendly definitions, sample dialogues, and discussion guides.
Celebrate Black History
Community Foundation of San Carlos (CFSC) invites you to celebrate the contributions that Black Americans have made to American history in their struggles for freedom and equality. Their website has many resources that can help deepen our understanding of our nation's history. CFSC has a comprehensive collection of books, podcasts, and films & documentaries, plus a list of local businesses and nonprofits to support. If you’re looking for ways to uplift people in our own community, check out their list of Black-Owned Businesses right here in the Bay Area.
Anti-Harassment Training
Anti-Asian American and xenophobic harassment have been on the rise across the U.S. In these one-hour interactive workshops, co-sponsored by Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) and Right To Be, you’ll learn methodology for responding to harassment by (1) trusting your instincts, (2) reclaiming your space, and (3) practicing resilience. They also offer Bystander Intervention Training for various real-life situations. Click below for more information on these free workshops.
Loretta J. Ross Workshops
Course Lectures
FOUR Tuesdays | 4:00-6:00 pm
August 1, 8, 15, and 22
Learning Lab with Q&A
FOUR Thursdays | 4:00-6:00 pm
August 3, 10, 17, and 24
Calling In: Creating Change Without Cancel Culture is a transformative four-week course with Loretta J. Ross and Loan Tran which will share practical, immediately applicable ways to build towards a Calling In culture where each of us is more equipped to tackle the problems of our times head-on with more love, compassion, and joy.
During the course, we will contextualize call-out culture as a logical result of systems of domination and control, such as white supremacy and patriarchy, develop new language and frameworks for creating positive social change, go beyond a diagnosis of the problems to engage in new practices with each other, incorporate somatic or body-based practices into our toolbox, and gain clarity on a sense of belonging and purpose in a broader human rights movement.
SURJ Bay Area
SURJ ACTION HOUR
Fridays @ 12:00 PM
Want to take tangible steps to end racial injustice and white supremacy? Join a SURJ Action Hour! This is one way to truly Show Up for Racial Justice and it's just an hour a week. SURJ Bay Area Action Hours meet over Zoom to take concrete steps together ~ calling elected officials, signing petitions, etc. Action Hour takes place every Friday from 12:00-1:00 pm.
SURJ National
ABOLITION ACTION HOUR
Choose from these dates:
March 16 | April 20 | May 18, June 22 | July 20 @ 12:00 PM
Join SURJ's monthly Abolition Action Hour to come together to take collective action with our partners in the fight for racial and economic justice. In one-hour gatherings, participants make calls, sign petitions, send emails, and take online action to close jails, defund police, invest in communities, protect Indigenous rights to land and water, and more! You’ll receive training and support throughout the session as well as a community of fellow SURJ members to take action with. All are welcome whether you’re a long-time member or are just hearing about SURJ for the first time.