Past Actions
Artwork by Favianna Rodriguez
On May 1st, millions of people across the United States will be striking and joining actions in the ongoing struggle for immigrant rights in this country. In support of all of our immigrant students we have worked with and will continue to work with, ARTE stands in solidarity with this movement.
Here are some specific ways that you can support these immigrant justice efforts between now and May 1st.
1.// Participate in a local action. Visit Cosecha’s website to find an action in a city near you on May 1st.
2.// Contribute to a call for art. Submit your artwork to the #Not1More website.
3.// Donate to ARTE’s annual scholarship campaign here. Each year, ARTE awards a deserving student leader, regardless of their immigration status, an educational scholarship. In the “Add a Note” section, please write “scholarship.”
Lastly, leading up to the strike, we'll feature several beautiful pieces of immigrant rights artwork across our different social media platforms. This "Migration is Beautiful" artwork is by Favianna Rodriguez at CultureStrike.
#NoBanNoWallNoRaids
As shared here, ARTE believes that human rights change requires engagement across all members of our community. We’re reaching out because we need you to act. ARTE proudly and frequently works with young, undocumented folks of color. Many of us on the team have worked with young people who have been directly impacted by DACA. Its repeal, which has been announced this past week, will have dire consequences on their lives, the lives of their families, the lives of people within their communities, and our nation as a whole.
We recognize how difficult this time is for young people impacted by DACA and many undocumented immigrant students. As a way of encouraging compassion and affirming our commitment to these young people, we are asking you to join us in this campaign, #ThankYouForBeingHere. Here are some suggested guidelines for participation:
Who: Right now, we are asking educators who work directly with immigrant students to first participate by writing an anonymous message of encouragement to your students. All educators, from pre-K to college, are welcomed.
What: This message could be words of inspiration for your students, an expression of your gratitude for being here, or something that makes you proud of them. While these messages should be written in mind for the students you directly work with, these should be addressed to a group of students as a whole, and not individuals. As these will be posted on social media, please do not include information that would identify or accidentally put your students in any risk.
How: We are encouraging handwritten notes, but feel free to be as creative as possible. You can include pictures or graphics, make a collaged note, etc. Please make sure your writing is clear. Bilingual / Multilingual messages are strongly encouraged whenever possible. Also note that these will be posted on social media, notes that fit the dimensions of Instagram (1080px by 1080px) are suggested. Please note that submitters are giving ARTE full permission to publicly post and use photos. We will repost images from our own social media accounts whenever possible.
Where: Everywhere! While we are based in New York City, we want and encourage educators from all over the country to participate. Compassion knows no borders.
After: Once you have completed your note, commit to calling the White House in defense of DACA. Call once. Call twice. Call every day.
*Important: Please be sure to use both hashtags: #ThankYouForBeingHere and #DefendDACA and please tag us: @artejustice as well, so we can keep track of the notes. We will be using the platforms of: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Feel free to use all or any of these platforms. Also, be sure to share with your classrooms and your colleagues widely!
Current Actions
#FreeCyntoiaBrown and Mass Incarceration Actions
Background Information:
Cyntoia Brown, at age 16 met a man "Kut Throat" and was forced into prostitution. She was picked up by a 43 year old man, whom she killed him in self defense. Cyntoia is now twenty-nine years of age, one of many other women serving a sentence in self-defense. Given the disproportionate number of youth of color that are incarcerated and the 2.3 million juveniles are the are arrested each year in the United States, ARTE believes that we must address the injustices within our criminal justice system. Young women, like Cyntoia Brown, who experience grave mental and physical abuse alongside severe exploitation from abusers and rapists, should not be forced to sit in prison for the rest of their lives.
12 Actions on how you can help #FreeCyntoiaBrown and engage in mass incarceration work:
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Read additional information on Cyntoia Brown's case in the following articles from Essence, The New York Times, and NBC News.
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Sign the online petitions from MoveOn and Color of Change to support Cyntoia Brown.
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Host a movie screening of “Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story” by Daniel Birman and a letter writing night: In it, director Daniel Birman follows Brown's case from the hearing that determined she be tried as an adult, the murder trial, and then her subsequent sentencing to life without the possibility of parole until her late 60s.
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Call Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam’s office (contact information here) or Tweet him at @BillHaslam.
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Learn about and become involved with local end mass incarceration efforts, organizations like JustLeadership USA is a good place to start.
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Educate yourself on how the prison industrial complex affects youth and women through online articles and literature like, Inside this Place, Not of It: Narratives from Women's Prisons and the Prison Policy's report on women and mass incarceration.
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Purchase this #FreeCyntoiaBrown t-shirt from Female Collective.
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Download Appolition or Bail Bloc (or both!), two apps that take micro-contributions via apps on your phone or computer and transform them into bail funds as a way to counteract the predatory bail bonds system.
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Support an LGBTQ prisoner pen-pal through Black & Pink.
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Sign and Share a petition by the ACLU to implore Jeff Sessions to end the War on Drugs, a policy which has disproportionately affected communities of color, reinforcing and perpetuating inequities in our society.
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Share ARTE’s Global Women Heroes Generosity page! Donations will be open through the end of the year to support our mural project designed by incarcerated young women and to further support ARTE's community education initiative around mass incarceration adn juvenile justice.
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Write and Send a postcard and/or letter to the governor of Tennessee on behalf of Cyntoia Brown and send a letter of support to her directly using the following addresses:
Letters of support for Cyntoia Brown can be sent to:
Ms. Cyntoia Brown
Inmate #410593
Tennessee Prison for Women
Unit 1 West, D-49
3881 Stewarts Lane
Nashville, TN 37218
Letters on Cyntoia Brown's behalf can be sent to the Tennessee governor:
The Honorable Bill Haslam
Governor of Tennessee State Capitol, 1st Floor
600 Charlotte Ave
Nashville, TN 37243
