This week in anti-Trump activism: NYC primaries, hexes, and climate change

Hurricane Harvey left vast destruction in its path, but it wasn’t the only natural disaster to manifest recently. Hurricanes Irma, Jose, and Katia have also materialized, and it’s looking like all of them will / have caused irreparable damage across the US and beyond. Despite these very real looming dangers, some Floridians worry that if they evacuate instead of attend work as usual, they will return to no job at all. In the same week, Mexico experienced its biggest earthquake in a century. If only everyone would acknowledge climate change as an actual force of catastrophe instead of merely a different political opinion.

Anyway, last week we celebrated Labor Day by not going to work on Monday, unless you were at a job that required you to keep working, which was probably a lot of you. Shortly after the designated day off, news broke that credit reporting service Equifax was hacked, resulting in nearly 150 million people’s secure information being compromised. Looking into the history of the credit score, it’s left some wondering why credit reports are even a thing. But then we remember: in America, we are defined by our finances.

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MONDAY

• Have an idea for how to improve the city? Submit it by October 13 to to be considered for the upcoming Participatory Budgeting session.
• Sign this petition asking Congress to defend DACA and support the DREAM Act.
• Join the North Brooklyn Progressive Democrats in a meeting and last-minute canvassing event for Council Member Antonio Reynoso. (11 Meserole Street, 6:30pm, FREE)
• Get to know Antifa beyond what the media’s saying at the release event for historian and organizer Mark Bray’s new book Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, which includes a reading and discussion. (Bluestockings, 7pm, FREE)

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TUESDAY

• New York’s primary election happens today. Find your polling site here, and check your voter registration status here. As long as you make it to your polling place by 9pm and are registered, you can vote.
• In an effort to increase voter turnout in South Brooklyn’s City Council District 43, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice and the Arab American Association of New York is hosting Get Out the Vote initiatives on Election Day. (Arab American Association of New York, various times, FREE)
• The Women’s Information Network of New York is holding a skill and resource sharing party. (Solas Bar, 6:30pm, FREE)
• The NYC DSA is having their immigration justice working group meeting. (CUNY Graduate Center, 6:30pm, FREE)
• In solidarity with those facing legal trouble for Confederate monument removal in Durham, who will be having their court date today, the Workers World Party is calling for people to rally at NYC’s Christopher Columbus statue. (Columbus Circle, 6:30pm, FREE)
• History and philosophy professor Ward Regan will be presenting on societal violence, from monarchies to America’s so-called democracy. (Nowadays, 7:30pm, $12)

WEDNESDAY

• Join Releasing Aging People in Prison (RAPP) in calling your City Council reps and asking them to support a bill creating a task force that will study obstacles faced by formerly incarcerated elders reintegrating into the community.
• Bring your laptops and phones for a hands-on infosec training, hosted by the DSA. (Mayday Space, 5:30pm, FREE)
• #GetOrganizedBK is holding their monthly meeting, which will address tangible actions to take after Charlottesville, with speakers from the Close Rikers and Right To Know Act campaigns and activists rallying for better school integration in NYC. (Ballroom of 274 Garfield Pl, 6:30pm, FREE)
• Ben Yee, State Committeeman for NY’s Assembly District 66 who will be up for re-election next year, is throwing an end-of-summer BBQ. (115 4th Ave, 7pm, pay what you can)

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THURSDAY

• A bill that will repeal the cabaret law, a Prohibition-era piece of legislation that requires establishments to have a difficult-to-obtain license to legally allow dancing, is having a public hearing. (City Hall, 1pm, FREE)
• SURJ NYC is having their monthly meeting on unlearning racism and building a movement. (Project Reach NYC, 6:30pm, FREE)
• The DSA is holding their Brooklyn Electoral Working Group meeting. (YWCA Brooklyn, 7pm, FREE)
• Critical Resistance is hosting a community discussion on abolishing the prison-industrial complex in the Trump era. (Verso Books, 7pm, FREE)
• The DSA’s Brooklyn Housing working group is also holding their monthly meeting. (Brooklyn Free School, 7pm, FREE)
• 150 years ago, Marx’s Capital was published. Hear from a renowned Marxist scholar and other researchers and professors about its legacy and how it can be applied to today’s society. (Goethe-Institut New York, 7pm, FREE)
• How do neighborhoods in NYC change? Jeremiah Moss of Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York and urban scholar Alessandro Busa will discuss the shifting cityscape as part of the Brooklyn Book Festival. (Christ Church Episcopal Cobble Hill, 7pm, FREE)
• The Workers World Party is hosting a discussion on building a movement against white supremacy and capitalism, with regard to Durham, Charlottesville, Hurricane Harvey, ICE deportations, and more. (Solidarity Center NYC, 7pm, FREE)
• 350 Brooklyn is hosting a meeting on climate change and other local issues. (Brooklyn Commons, 7:30pm, FREE)
• Party to the music of Nas, Amy Winehouse, and other tunes on vinyl while raising money for the Southern Poverty Law Center at the latest “Thursdays for a cause” event series. (Our Wicked Lady, 8pm, $5 suggested donation)
• Get queer for a good cause at Wallbreaker, a monthly benefit drag show and party raising funds for the Brooklyn Defense Committee. (Macri Park, 10pm, donation-based)

FRIDAY

• Get to know the history and practice of black feminists thought at this workshop led by Nigerian artist and scholar Olaronke. (BAM Fisher, 2pm, FREE)
• Learn how to become a protest marshal, which is someone who works to de-escalate conflict during activist actions and acts as a buffer between demonstrators and hecklers or the NYPD.  (The LGBT Community Center, 6pm, FREE)

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SATURDAY

• As part of the Brooklyn Book Festival, a variety of speakers (including Yusef Salaam, one-fifth of the Central Park 5) will be discussing criminal justice reform in America. (St. Ann’s and the Holy Trinity, 3pm, $10 suggested donation)
• As the Brooklyn Museum’s exhibition “We Wanted A Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85” comes to a close, the museum is hosting a day of curator-led tours, performances, and discussions with activists and scholars. (Brooklyn Museum, 1pm,  $16-25 includes museum admission)
• Musician Ani Cordero is playing a show of protest songs to benefit the Center for Constitutional Rights. (Starr Bar, 7pm, $10)
• Feeling witchy? Participate in a ritual to hex Donald Trump and his administration, with half of any donations going to Planned Parenthood. (Catland Books, 7pm, $10 suggested donation)

SUNDAY

• On National Constitution Day, artist Maya Ciarrocchi is organizing A Remedy for a Constitutional Crisis, an outdoor event in which performers read the Constitution in multiple languages, followed by a political discussion. (Abrons Arts Center, 12pm, FREE)
• Buy some ceramics for a good cause at BKLYN CLAY’s Crafting Resistance sale, benefiting the Natural Resources Defense Council and Grow NYC. (BKLYN CLAY, 2pm, FREE)
• On the 6th anniversary of Occupy, NYC Action Medical is holding a street medic training to equip attendees with basic emergency competence at protests. (Zucotti Park, 2pm, FREE)

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