No More Trayvon Martins Campaign Appeal

The mass mobilization and media generated in response to the outcry over the murder of Trayvon Martin and how it was handled by the Sanford police, provides the human rights movement with a critical opportunity. The opportunity is to demonstrate how the international human rights framework can strengthen the movements for racial justice and transform the institutions of this society. In order to realize this opportunity, we must engage in mass education and advocacy.

The “No More Trayvons” campaign was launched as a result of research and a petition produced by Kali Akuno and Arlene Eisen at the request of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) and disseminated in partnership with the Black Left Unity Network (BLUN) and US Human Rights Network (USHRN). The campaign is demanding the implementation of a National Plan of Action for Racial Justice, a critical tool that can be used to educate, agitate, and organize on a mass level. For the campaign to be successful, we need the critical support of organizations such as yours. The MXGM is calling on you to help us build this initiative and seize the opportunity. The first step we are asking you to take is to formally endorse the demand for a National Plan of Action.

The second step is asking you to engage in some of the following activities (based on your capacity and resources) listed below:
1. Outreach: contacting your constituents and allies directly to ask them to support the petition drive and the demand for a National Plan of Action
● Phone Banking
● Direct Mailing
● Listserv Blasts
● Door Knocking
● Community or Event Tabling
2. Social Media Outreach and Mobilization: promoting the “No More Trayvons” campaign via your social media resources
● Post the handbill flyer on your website
● Post the handbill flyer on your facebook, myspace, etc., page
● Post the petition link on your facebook, myspace, etc., page
● Promote the petition on your twitter account
● Blog about the campaign and the demand and encourage people to sign the petition
3. Education: utilize your educational resources and processes to educate your members and the public at large about the campaign, the National Plan demand, and what a National Plan of Action is and how it can be used
● Produce handouts on the campaign
● Disseminate the handouts produced by USHRN, MXGM, etc.
● Conduct webinars on the campaign
● Conduct Teach-in’s and Community Forums on the Campaign
4. Action: support the campaign by building local, statewide, and national pressure on the government to comply with the demand to implement a National Plan of Action
● Raise the demand at city council meetings, with state representatives, in requests to federal level officials
● Conduct local and/or regional hearings or Tribunals on human rights violations to press for government accountability
5. Content Development: work with the National Alliance for Racial Justice and Human Rights and the National CERD Implementation Task Force to produce content for the Civil Society National Plan of Action for Racial Justice that we will use to press the Obama administration to adopt as the basis of the governments National Plan of Action.

Our goals for this initiative are to:
1. Secure 100,000 signatures for the petition by Friday, May 18th to deliver to the Obama administration.
2. Mid-term goal is to expand the National Alliance to carry out this work.
3. Long-term goal is to build mass consciousness and a broad base for CERD and the National Plan of Action.

If you or your organization is prepared to endorse the demand for a National Plan of Action and to engage in any of these activities please email Kali Akuno at kaliakuno@mxgm.org. Please indicate in your email what types of activities your organization is committing to, when, where, and what you may need from MXGM and the National Alliance for Racial Justice to support your efforts.

Thank you,
Kali Akuno, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
Thursday, May 26, 2012