SHOWING UP FOR
RACIAL JUSTICE
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 200 chapters and affiliates in 46 states.
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 and reimagining public safety.
Read more about what SURJ San Mateo has been doing 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
SURJ National Meetings
ABOLITION ACTION HOUR
August 18 @ 12:00 PM
September 21 @ 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 our one-hour gatherings, we 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!
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.
Calling In Conversations
DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
August 23, 2022 @ 4:00 PM PST
Calling In Conversations will be a loosely-themed Zoom chat with Loretta J. Ross and Loan Tran about your experiences, stories and questions.
When we seek to recognize the thread of humanity in each other, to understand with curiosity and vulnerability that we are all connected, we can begin a healing process. Through the practice of Calling In, we commit to ending the cycles of pain, such that true redemption can begin. This month, we discuss Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). What is it? How can our approach to this work be improved?
Take Action
SUPPORT LEGISLATION
Email your federally elected officials to demand they support all BREATHE-inspired policies!
Unveiled in the wake of the uprisings after the murder of George Floyd, the BREATHE Act sponsored by Movement for Black Lives made its debut two years ago as an all-encompassing bill designed to make all that we imagine plain — divest from the systems that harm us and invest in our health, safety and healing. Since then, BREATHE has continued just as we hoped, inspiring and guiding organizers in their fights at the local and state levels, advancing as multiple pieces of legislation on the federal level, and establishing our vision for public safety in legislation and budget processes at all levels of government. From repealing policies that are remnants of the drug war, to establishing a transparent and structured process of clemency, to investing in critical grants to ensure we center health and well-being in public safety.
SURJ Bay Area
STUDY & ACTION: 11-WEEK SERIES
September 6 – November 17 @ 6:30 – 9:00 PM
Are you looking for a learning community to challenge racism? Do you want to learn more so that you can become a resource for your community? Would you like to find out how to take action locally? Join SURJ Bay Area as they examine white supremacy and resistance movements to build skills and take action in our communities. Through weekly readings and facilitated groups over Zoom, we will study the histories and systems that we resist, deepen our understanding of injustice, and learn to take strategic, effective action to dismantle white supremacy and support Black, Indigenous and People of Color–led organizations fighting for racial justice. Indicate your preferred evening when you register for this 11-week series. FREE but space is limited!
Book Discussion
THE POSSESSIVE INVESTMENT IN WHITENESS:
How White People Profit from Identity Politics
October 25, 2022 @ 7:00 PM via Zoom
George Lipsitz’s classic book argues that public policy and private prejudice work together to create a possessive investment in whiteness that is responsible for the racialized hierarchies of our society. In this twentieth anniversary edition, Lipsitz provides updated statistics and analyses of the enduring importance of Hurricane Katrina; the nature of anti-immigrant mobilizations; police assaults on Black women, the killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Freddie Gray; the legacy of Obama and the emergence of Trump; the Charleston Massacre and other hate crimes; and the ways in which white fear, white fragility, and white failure have become drivers of a new ethno-nationalism.