Black Love Resists In the Rust

“We know we must get good at grief, because change — both the kind we want and the kind we dread — requires a letting go.”
-adrienne maree brown

To Our Members, Supporters, and Community:

With deep gratitude, after honest reflection and with careful consideration, our board members have decided to sunset our beloved organization...

Please join us as we share important updates at our General Body Meeting on Saturday, February 1, 2025 at 11 a.m.

RSVP at https://forms.gle/mvok2edzx51uX26h8

NEXT WEEK!

Erie County has decided not to spend $800M on a new jail! This is a direct result of collective action. This win would not have been possible without YOU!

Join the No New Jail Campaign for our celebration Paint Party featuring one of your favorite artists and muralists, The Left-Handed Bandit.

📅 Date: December 18th
⏰ Time: 6 PM (arrive at 5:30pm to start the vibes)
📍 Location: Provided to registrants

Let’s honor this hard-fought victory and keep building a future rooted in care, not incarceration. 💪🏾✨

Register now: bit.ly/NNJEOY2024 (all caps)

Oh and the fight isn't over. We will be working to determine campaign next steps early next year. Join the campaign now to ensure you are part of that process. bit.ly/JOINNNJEC

Full statement from the No New Jail Campaign on the County's decision to reject building a $700M jail.

Statement can be found at linktr.ee/NoNewJailEC.



Partnership for the Public Good
Showing Up for Racial Justice - SURJ Buffalo
Advancement Project

💰✊🏾

BUT HAVE Y'ALL SEEN THE NEWS!?!?!?!?!?
👀👀👀

ERIE COUNTY LEADERS WILL NOT SPEND $700M ON A NEW JAIL!!!
Full article on our linktr.ee.

Full campaign statement coming soon.

📢 Join Us at the Erie County Budget Hearing! 📢

This Monday, we’re taking a stand for our communities! 💪🏽 We’re demanding that our elected officials invest more in our communities instead of continuing to invest more and more into the carceral system.

Check out our toolkit to learn how you can get involved: bit.ly/BUDGETTOOLKIT24 (all caps).

🗣️ The Budget Hearing is at 6:00 PM at County Hall (92 Franklin St.).
But come early! We’ll be holding a press conference at 5:45 PM to kick things off and make our voices heard.

It’s time for a shift in priorities. We need more resources for education, healthcare, housing, and community-based programs, and less money spent on jails and punishment-based systems.

Let’s show up strong and demand change. ✊🏽

🗓️ When: Monday at 5:30 PM (for the Press Conference) / 6:00 PM (Budget Hearing)
📍 Where: Erie County Hall, 92 Franklin St., Downtown Buffalo.

Bring your friends, family, and neighbors—this is a moment for all of us to come together and push for the future we deserve. 🙌🏽

Thank you to everyone who came out to The People's Budget Town Hall TOO!
More than 40 community members joined us in developing scripts for the upcoming Erie County Budget Hearing. Look out for The People's Budget Advocacy Toolkit coming soon!

We are finishing out our Erie County Budget Series with one final event and a call to action:

Erie County Budget Prep Call
🗓 Saturday, November 16th
⏰12-1:30pm
📍Zoom - Register in advance: bit.ly/ECBudgetPrep

Meet us at County Hall!
🗓 Monday, November 18th
⏰ 5:30pm (the hearing will begin at 6pm)
📍 92 Franklin St., 4th Floor

See you all at noon for part three of our Erie County Budget Prep Series - The Erie County Budget Town Hall 2!

The Erie County Budget Hearing is November 18th. Join us today as we continue preparing for the hearing.

Food will be served at noon. Location provided to registrants.

📣 EDUCATE. AGITATE. ORGANIZE.

Tomorrow is election day, and we know the stakes are high. For years, we’ve been organizing toward a future where we all have what we need to thrive. We’ve struggled together, educated each other, and raised our collective voices. This work must continue long after the election.

No matter what happens tomorrow, community is the answer and organizing is the path forward. We encourage you to take care of your mental health in the coming days and weeks. We will share resources to our stories as we come across them.

For more about what's at stake check out VOICE Buffalo.

///

💰Our fight for increased community investments continues! We will see you Saturday at 12pm for The People's Budget Town Hall 2. Register at bit.ly/PEOPLESBUDGET119.

🗓Save the Date: Erie County Public Budget Hearing, November 18th. More info to come!

📰Buffalo News released an article today saying the proposed new jail could cost $700M. 🤯 Article is in on our linktr.ee.

Next Week!

🗓November 9th!
⏰12pm
📍Downtown Buffalo - full location sent to registrants
Register here - bit.ly/PEOPLESBUDGET119 (all caps)

“We know that the communities with the most resources are the safest. Budgeting for the needs of our community in the ways we have outlined will provide the needed resources to address the root causes of crime and criminalized activity and promote public safety. Over the years we have watched the county continue to increase funding to the Erie County Sheriff’s Office while our most needed community resources go un- or underfunded. The people of Erie County want to live in a safe county, and a safe county is one where people’s needs are met.“
- Phylicia Brown

"Our community came out today to express their interest in the budget process because they realize its importance in the quality of life in our communities. The poverty and unequal distribution of our resources, our money, is the root cause of most of the community issues we are concerned with. Meeting our budgetary needs in this year's fiscal budget goes a long way towards ameliorating these concerns. Further, instead of the county’s proposal to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a new jail, through this process, we have developed a list of expenditures that the community deems exponentially more important and needed."
- Jerome Wright

See you there!