Activists from around the country are meeting at the RNC and DNC conventions to continue the struggle against endless war, to demand a more livable future, and to defend our planet. We have reached out to UFPJ Member Groups to compile a list of events that are being organized around the conventions, by the peace and justice movement and our allies.
UFPJ is a 501c3. We don’t endorse any candidates but we’ve always maintained, in principle and in practice, that all officials and all governments must be held accountable for their positions and policies on war, militarism, nuclear weapons, human rights, and the environment. No matter who is elected in 2016, we know we will need a strong, vibrant, and connected national and international peace movement to put an end to the forever war and redirect military spending to meet human needs. We must take the lead and we support all non-violent action that asserts the power of the people, at home and across the globe, who yearn for peace.
Please consider making a $5-10 monthly contribution to UFPJ, so we may continue to rise to action in these violent and uncertain times, in the name of peace and justice!
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On-Going Actions
Monday, July 23 – Thursday, July 28
9AM – 11AM, Daily
Nonviolent Civil Resistance Classes
FDR Park – next to Wells Fargo/DNC convention, 1800 Pattison Ave
Monday, July 25 – Thursday, July 28
10:30AM – 2:30PM, Daily
Anti-war Truth Displays: Dismantle the Empire… Killer Drones and Endless War…
Anti-War presence in Philadelphia each day during the DNC featuring large killer drone replicas, masks and pictures with child victims of drone attacks, posters, and banners. Base display each day from 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM will be at the corner of Broad and Arch Street in front of the Arch Street United Methodist Church near the PA Convention Center. Call (610) 544-1818 or visit
5 – 10PM, Daily
Socialist Convergence
Friends Center, 1501 Cherry Street
“What’s next for the movement? How do we make a political revolution in this country?” These and many other questions are likely to become even more pressing this July. In recognition of the historic opportunity afforded by this political moment, a number of socialist organizations are planning a series of “Socialist Convergence” assemblies: meetings, panels, and workshops to take place concurrently to the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Philadelphia, from July 25th to July 28th. The convergence will include panel discussions on questions of strategy and what’s next for the movement, workshops on the nuts-and-bolts of how to build socialist organization in your hometown, and space for collective deliberation on how / if to relate to each other’s work after July.
Panel discussions will be held evenings at Friends Center (1501 Cherry Street) throughout the week of the DNC (July 25th through July 28th). How-to-organize workshops will be scheduled for the mornings of the DNC at FDR Park.
PLEASE NOTE: The venue is NOT air conditioned. Please dress appropriately and be prepared for very hot weather.
Tuesday, July 26 – Thursday, July 28
Black DNC Resistance Against Police Terrorism and State Repression
The presidential election is the largest electoral process in the country, and the Black community can no longer watch a few control the lives of many. Black communities have been underfunded for centuries. Black communities are under siege with militarized police terrorism, assault and murder; public schools are underfunded and do not properly educate our children; economic development means black displacement through gentrification; prison privatization and the school to prison pipeline; raising the minimum wage to a living standard; the right to proper access of quality healthcare, food, shelter and the essential means of life; protection and inclusion of the LGBTQ community, as well, the releasing of all political prisoners and the right to self-determination and control of our communities. This can only come from the unification of our voices, understanding the intersectional connections, education and support of one another and not the democratic process.
Philadelphia is a historically Black city, as well as the birth of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Both documents have kept the Black community subjugated. The American political system was organized and created by white men who supported and upheld the enslavement of Black people. These documents continue to function under the order of white supremacy and neo-liberal reformists politics. Black liberation cannot occur in a reformist society. White supremacy must be abolished and Black liberation must become a priority.
The DNC is set for July 25th -28th. There are multiple groups and thousands of people coming into the city; some to support, protest, organize, disrupt, get arrested, etc. We cannot allow this political moment to be whitewashed like the Occupy Movement. We must capitalize off of this moment with one goal in mind; and that is to resist the capitalist and racist power structures that allow white supremacy and capitalist oppression to flourish. It’s time to build power, PEOPLE POWER!
If you’re interested in organizing and or developing the march email: phillyrealjustice@gmail.com or dncphillyorganize@gmail.com
Saturday, July 23
9AM – 9PM
The DNC Freedom School
Arch Street Meeting House (ASMH)
Come together for what may become the first in a series of of gatherings called the DNC Freedom School.
Those preparing to protest at the Democratic National Convention, along with protest supporters and trainers, will come together in the spirit and truth of the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Schools. The Summer of Freedom produced gras roots, community education collectives that taught among other things the “art and spirit of resistance and the strategies of peaceful, non-violent protest.” Freedom Schools articulated that quality education for black and brown children was not just having the right to sit next to a white student but was a matter of confronting and restructuring the entire racist system of education. In addition, Freedom Schools were clearly tied to the woefully inadequate form in which institutional democracy existed. Voter registration, civic engagement, political and social activism were key components of the Summer of Freedom. Revisiting the courage, commitment, conviction and cause of the Summer of Freedom and the Freedom Schools has the potential to shape the current context in incredible ways.
The DNC Freedom School will include “Know Your Rights” training fromUp Against the Law Legal Collective, other peaceful, non-violent protest training and support services mentioned above, and more. Civil Rights era veteran and still-relevant voice for justice, the Reverend Gil Caldwell who participated in the Summer of Freedom’s Freedom Schools, the March on Washington, the Selma to Montgomery March and the Poor People’s Campaign will screen a key portion of his documentary film entitled “From Selma to Stonewall – Are We There Yet?.” Reverend Caldwell and his son Dale, who is active in creating an Economic Justice Movement for the 21st century that builds on the aims of both the March on Washington and the Poor People’s Campaign, will convene a conversation on justice – movement intersectionality in the context of their experience in the Civil Rights movement. Mark Miller and Lydia Munoz, nationally known sacred and social justice musicians will share music from Mark’s most recent book: Roll Down Justice: Sacred Songs and Social Justice.
Schedule:
- 10:30am to 12PM Reverend Gil Caldwell (Veteran of the Civil Rights Movement) and his son Dale Caldwell
Showing of a 30 minute documentary entitled: “From Selma to Stonewall: Are We There Yet.” Discussion on the intersectionality of racial justice and LGBTQI Justice. (12:30pm to 1:30pm) Dr. Anthony Monteiro (The Black Radical Tradition and more) - 2 to 4:45pm “Know Your Rights” Training by the “Up Against the Law” Legal Collective
- 4:45 to 5:30pm Firefly Street Medics
- 5:30 to 6pm Sacred Songs of Resistance lead by Mark Miller and Lydia Munoz
- 6 to 9pm Peaceful, Non-Violent Protest Training by Training For Change
- 9 to 9:30pm Sacred Songs of Resistance lead by Mark Miller and Lydia Munoz
You are invited to bring a bag lunch to eat during our noon to 12:30 break. We will provide ice water.
9:30AM – 6:30PM
Summit for Clean Energy
Join us at the Summit for a Clean Energy Revolution on Saturday, July 23 (the day before the March for a Clean Energy Revolution).
REGISTER TODAY! You must register for the conference at this link.http://act.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/Calendar?id=120632&view=Detail
Be a part of this gathering of people working to ban fracking, keep fossil fuels in the ground, stop dirty energy infrastructure and justly transition to 100% renewable energy.
The day will have a mix of educational workshops, organizing skills trainings, and strategy development sessions. Come prepared to acquire new skills and strategies to take back to your local campaigns and to meet people working on similar efforts in their communities across the country.
10AM – 5 PM
The People’s Convention
Arch Street Meeting House (ASMH)
The People’s Convention is a pro-democracy event intended to set the stage for a new era of people-powered politics. Our plan is the ratification of a collectively written People’s Platform. This platform will consist of the issues which are most pressing to our country’s civic health.
We will also create a space for grassroots organizers and organizations to network and build relationships. This networking should establish the foundation of an ongoing movement intended to transform American politics for the better.
PLEASE NOTE: The venue is NOT air conditioned. Please dress appropriately and be prepared for very hot weather.
Sunday, July 24
6 – 9PM
Islamophobia and the Progressive community
Town hall meeting to address the repeated harassment, entrapment, and bigoted attacks this presidential election season on Islam, immigrants, and the American Muslim community. Cosponsored by the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations and Jewish Voice for Peace. Local coalitions and campaigns will be featured, and follow-up actions will be planned.
12PM
March for a Clean Energy Revolution
The nation’s spotlight will shine on Philadelphia during the Democratic National Convention in July 2016. Over the past decade, Pennsylvania and many states have suffered negative impacts from intensive drilling and fracking. Water, air and land have been polluted and poisoned, and as a result, many residents have become sickened. Philadelphia itself is pummeled with environmental injustices related to the fossil fuel industry, including the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery, the largest single consumer of Bakken shale oil.
Climate change presents the United States and the world with an unprecedented challenge and poses a threat to future life on this planet. Now more than ever, it is imperative that our political leaders take swift action to keep the vast majority of fossil fuels in the ground by banning fracking for oil and gas, and other extreme energy extraction methods. Our leaders must commit to swiftly attaining a full and just transition to renewable energy.
Check out the March Details page. Look up busses, shared rides and housing here: http://www.cleanenergymarch.org/travel/
March for a Clean Energy Revolution: Stop TPP Contingent
TradeJustice Alliance will be joining our friends at Food and Water Watch, Flush the TPP and other groups in a TPP contingent at the March for a Clean Energy Revolution in Philadelphia immediately prior to the Democratic National Convention, where we will address the connection between TPP and unsustainable energy. We need to expand this number to send a strong message that our members of Congress that we demand a green energy agenda that rejects TPP! Chartered bus (with free rides for people who can’t afford to pay!), public transit, and carpool info is available on the March website’s travel page. Also check the site for housing info if you wish to stay in Philadelphia overnight. You can find addition information about the march at http://www.cleanenergymarch.org/.
Monday, July 25
10AM – 12PM
Migrants March Map
Support an action and speaking on a panel led by JUNTOS and #Not1More to protest the Berks Family Detention Center and discuss the State of Migration; Organize a second Justice for Berta action and an It Takes Roots contingent in the March for Our Lives by Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign; COPINH members will speak at a panel hosted by Jewish Voices for Peace entitled “US foreign Policy from Palestine to Latin America: What to expect from a Clinton Presidency”; and we’ll end the day supporting a Moral Mondays action as part of a “Repairers of the Breach Revival” Tour with Dr. Reverend William Barber II of North Carolina.
11AM – 1PM
Progressive for Palestine: Is the U.S. ready to rethink policy on Israel?
A roundtable discussion with lawmakers and activists exploring the current status of Palestinian rights and advocacy. Confirmed speakers: Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Linda Sarsour, co-founder of the Muslim Democratic Club of New York, and James Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute. If you register, you will also receive information about a planned livestream feed of the discussion.
1PM
March on the Democratic National Convention 2016
Come out to Philadelphia and march on the Democratic National Convention this July!
Meet in the morning at City Hall (1401 John F Kennedy Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19107) in the center of the city. Meet on the north end of City Hall. March begins between 1pm and 2pm (tentative) to Wells Fargo Center using Broad Street. This is about a 3-4 mile distance and should take about an hour to walk. There are subway stations all up and down Broad Street, too, if you cannot walk long distances. The demonstration will continue outside of Wells Fargo Center for the remainder of the day near FDR park. Everyone is welcome! This is intended to be a peaceful protest.
3 PM
March for Our Lives 2016
The Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC) is announcing the next March for Our Lives to take place on Opening Day of the Democratic National Convention at Broad Street Philadelphia, on July 25th, 2016, calling on the poor of all colors, generations, genders and other divisive labels to join us in the ongoing battle against poverty.
Protest and March July 25, Broad Street beginning at City Hall (1401 JFK)
Assemble 3:00 pm, March beginning at 4:00 pm
Contact for march: cherihonkalappehrc@gmail.com
6:30 – 8:30PM
Repairers of the Breach Revival in Philadelphia: Time for a moral revolution of values
Philadelphia stop of this nationwide revival tour. Rev. William Barber II from the Moral Mondays movement in North Carolina, Rev. James Forbes, Traci Blackmon, and others will be here to mobilize multiracial coalitions of faith communities and people of conscience to give moral voice to the call for an anti-racist, anti-poverty, pro-justice agenda to invest in impoverished communities. Local coalitions and campaigns will be featured, with a call for follow-up actions in September.
Tuesday, July 26
10AM-12PM
Toxic Tour of PES Refinery
28th and Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia
In the morning we’ll participate in a Toxic Tour with Action United, Philly Thrive and LeftRoots to bear witness to the organizing and resistance being led by communities in South Philly who are fighting the refinery expansion in their neighborhood. Generations of asthma and other detrimental health effects will be highlighted at the refinery itself. In the afternoon we join the Black DNC Resistance March organized by Philly Coalition for REAL Justiice.
WOMEN SPEAK OUT FOR JUSTICE, SURVIVAL, AND A LIVING WAGE FOR ALL
When: 12:00 noon-2:00pm
Where: Broad Street Ministry, 315 S Broad St.
Let our voice and demands be heard loud and clear as delegates and protesters gather for the DNC! Organized by Global Women Strike & Women of Color/GWS.
BOYCOTT FOR JUSTICE: BUILDING PROGRESSIVE GRASSROOTS POWER
Hosted by Jewish Voice for Peace
When: 2:00–4:00pm
Where: Philadelphia Ethical Society
Why this is important now? State legislatures across the country and major party platforms are threatening to undermine the constitutionally protected right to use boycotts as a form of political expression.JOIN US after the panel as we travel together to join the Philly to Palestine contingent at the Black DNC Resistance March against Police Terrorism & State Repression.
More info on Facebook
PHILLY TO PALESTINE CONTINGENT AT THE DNC
When: 3:50pm
Where: SE Corner of Cuthbert and N. Broad St. Philadelphia, PA (by the Masonic Temple)
More info on Facebook
MARCH ON THE DNC! BUILD THE MOVEMENT TO END CAPITALISM & RACISM
When:4:00 pm
Where: Philadelphia City Hall
Progressives, socialists, peace activists, feminists, environmentalists: Let’s build a united front to take on the racist, capitalist Democratic war machine! The Presidential elections that take place every four years bring about only cosmetic changes: different faces running the government while the same billionaire masters still call all the shots. Whether it’s Clinton or Trump, Democrat or Republican, police will still terrorize us and low wages will keep us in or near poverty. WE’VE HAD ENOUGH! No more fake “democracy” in our city! NOT while racist cops run wild. NOT while our public schools go criminally underfunded. NOT while our people suffer some of the highest poverty levels in the country. We demand self-government, not super rich capitalists. Free Mumia and all political prisoners! Reparations now! Women’s and LGBTQ liberation now! Abolish capitalism and oppression NOW! For more information visit Facebook
CALLING ON THE DNC TO END THE DRUG WAR AND LEGALIZE CANNABIS
Where: Dilworth Park, Philadelphia
When: 4:00 pm, organized by East Coast Cannabis Coalition
We demand that the war on drugs and mass incarceration must end. We must also end cannabis prohibition and legalize cannabis and hemp. It is clear the DNC has played a key role in orchestrating and carrying out the war on drugs. Additionally, they continue to fund the war on drugs with every federal budget they pass. They are responsible for funding private and federal prisons as well as allowing lawful slave labor in prisons.
Furthermore, the DNC actively pursues an agenda that restricts, prevents, and outlaws any profits made from cannabis despite 4 states and, ironically, the District of Columbia having made over a billion dollars from cannabis economies in 2015. These policies do not represent the will of the American people, as a majority of Americans now favor more progressive measures for drug policy reforms, including an investment in drug treatment and legalizing cannabis. Even more egregious is that the DNC’s policies are not reflective of its own party members. How can the DNC say it represents Democrats when it passes laws that are marginalizing people of color, working class, and youth? This is unacceptable and the people will not stand for this without a fight. For more information visit Facebook
AN ARAB AMERICAN BLOCK PARTY AT THE DNC
Where: E Passyunk Ave & Tasker Street near the Singing Fountain
When: 9:00 pm – 2:00 am, organized by the Philadelphia Arab-American Host Committee
The party, celebrating Arabic culture with food and entertainment, brings together delegates with the local Philadelphia community.
More info: www.aaiusa.org
Wednesday, July 27
11AM-12PM
Protest for Palestinian Rights with CodePINK
1101 Arch St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107
Join CODEPINK and allies to support Palestinian human rights and the right to boycott Israel until it ends its brutal occupation of Palestine!
The 2016 Democratic National Committee platform includes anti-BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) language but does not include the world OCCUPATION in relation to Palestine. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton unconditionally supports Israel and is in the pocket of the Israel lobby AIPAC. Democratic Governer Cuomo of New York has already passed an executive order punishing the BDS movement, and legislators in other states will be following in his footsteps soon.
Palestinians deserve solidarity and liberation, and their American allies deserve the right to stand up for our values without persecution. Bring your signs and help us tell the DNC that BOYCOTT IS JUSTIFIED WHILE PALESTINE IS OCCUPIED! Free, free Palestine!
3-4:30PM
Untenable Status Quo on Palestine
National Constitution Center 525 Arch St.
This forum is sponsored by the Foundation for Middle East Peace, Jewish Voice for Peace, the National Iranian American Council, the Honorable George R. Salem, and AAI’s Foundation. Panelists will discuss the policy decisions that await the future administration with regards to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
- Sam Bahour, Chairman at Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy
- Peter Beinart, Columnist & Author
- Debra DeLee, President and CEO of Americans for Peace Now
- James Zogby, Founder & President of the Arab American Institute
5-7PM
Anti-War Speak-Out
Southside of Second Bank, 420 Chestnut St.
With global attention on what happens at the DNC it’s up to us make sure there is opportunity for people to speak-out against the U.S. “war on the world” that has been waged for the past almost 8 years under a Democratic Commander in Chief. We are going to use this space to show attendees and people around the world that that there are people living in this country who represent another way, giving them heart, courage and common cause. Bring your music, poems, and rage.
Thursday, July 28
11:30AM-12:30PM
PROTEST FOR PALESTINE: BREAK THE US-ISRAEL ALLIANCE
- When: 11:30am –12:30pm
- Where: Pennsylvania Convention Center – Philadelphia, PA (Philly) (12th St and Arch St entrance)RSVP on
- RSVP on Facebook
