Blog
United against all gender based oppression!
We started off this month, on Sunday November 3rd, with a beautiful workshop planned, organized, and led by our Brooklyn women and girl members. In the lead up to the workshop, the Brooklyn women and girl members made audio recordings sharing their experiences with gender-based oppression and violence. They used those audio clips, including blaring…
Days of Action: Immigrants say NO to 4 new Rikers!
As many of us know, Rikers Island is inhumane and a torture chamber for thousands of people. After many years of organizing by impacted communities, Rikers was supposed to close. Yet, Mayor de Blasio and New York City Council is pushing a $10 Billion Rikers expansion plan to build 4 borough based jails. They claim this plan will allow them…
Vote NO on Jail Expansion!
On Thursday, 8 DRUM members from all of our bases testified at the City Council’s Land Use Committee’s hearing on the mayor’s jail expansion plan. Members came after school and work, waited many hours, to demand City Council vote NO to the jail expansion plan. Members testified the $10 billion should be used to fund…
No Shame! No Fear!
Our South Queens gender justice team, working in the Richmond Hill/Ozone Park area, put together a public workshop so that our communities can start thinking about how we end domestic and gender-based violence in our neighborhoods. They started doing street outreach in the beginning of the year and identified domestic and gender-based violence as an…
Summer Picnic Brings Our Bases Together
Over 300 members from all 4 of our membership bases gathered together for DRUM’s 2019 Annual Membership Picnic at Sunken Meadows Park this past weekend. We got to celebrate our wins and accomplishments from this year so far, build with each other, share good food, play games, have a Young Peoples Liberation Area (YPLA), replay a…
Defending Our Communities from I.C.E. Raids
DRUM took to the streets in the days leading up to and during the planned ICE raids in our communities to address the fears, provide information, and training in how people can protect themselves and each other. DRUM members from across the city reached out to thousands of people with Know Your Rights and Risk…
WHO IS AT RISK OF THE UPCOMING ICE RAIDS?
As an ICE raid operation is starting in 10 cities across the country this SATURDAY-WEDSNESDAY, the levels of fear and panic are very high in many immigrant communities But these biannual raids have been ongoing for many years, under both the Trump and Obama administrations We have to be able to make an assessment of…
Communities Vs. Gender Oppression
On July 7, 2019, 15 DRUM gender justice leaders and members performed a natok(play) about how regular community members can intervene in domestic violent and street harassment situations as well as other times when women are being being controlled and repressed. We demonstrated that we do not have to rely on big organizations, lawyers, or people…
Major Victory: Citizenship Question Blocked from 2020 Census!
DRUM members have been agitating and organizing against the citizenship question for nearly a year! From mass public education, to gathering comments for the public commentary period, court mobilizations, to media work. The citizenship question on the 2020 census would have endangered the safety of our communities at a time of such an anti-immigrant administration,…
Wins For Education Justice In NYC!
Yesterday the mayor announced the implementation of citywide restorative justice, funding for 85 new social workers, a capping of suspensions to 20 days, and will not arrest students or issue summonses for low-level infractions. From speaking at rallies and protests to speaking with City Council members asking for the things our youth need in our…