Minutes for November 2020

Wednesday, 18 November 2020 (via Zoom)

In attendance: Jeff, Barbara, Bob, Bill, Tilo, April, Marsha

Welcome and Introductions

Barbara: notes on the 2020 Activism Conference held last weekend

Campaign (set for particular time) versus program (ongoing effort)
Amnesty International has over 5 million supporters worldwide (215,000 in the USA)
Discussion of racial inequality and the death penalty. Before today's meeting, Barb sent to the group e-mail list some supplementary information: 

• "Enduring Justice: The Persistence of Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Death Penalty";
• "Looking Deathworthy: Perceived Stereotypicality of Black Defendants Predicts Capital Sentencing Outcomes"
• Michelle Alexander. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindess. The New Press, 2010. (book)

Session on using Facebook for publicity
Local group caucus

• 69 attendees
• Edwin Gur and Jennifer Estrada moderated
• Results of local group survey: 95 groups responded, 75% of them meet monthly
• Many groups attracted more people by doing book discussions

Coming soon to AIUSA members website

• Suite of resources on member recruitment and retention, digital lobbying
• Kudo board (groups post about things they’ve done)

2020 Write for Rights (part 1)

Nassimi al-Sada: "Jailed for Defending Women's Rights" (Saudia Arabia) [presented by Bob]

Jani Silva: "Threatened for Defending the Amazon" (Columbia) [presented by Jeff]

Teyonna Lofton: "Shot While Waiting Outside of a Gas Station" (USA): [presented by Barbara]

Next meeting (online): Wednesday, 16 December 2020, 7:30 p.m.