SOMA Action Blog

United Panther Movement
Gail Szenes Gail Szenes

United Panther Movement

The United Panther Movement, which has revived the Panther’s original 10 Point Program, currently runs a Free Food Program where they provide free, fresh food and other essentials to the people of Newark.

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SOMA Action Seeking Community Organizer

SOMA Action is seeking a part time organizer to join our all-volunteer team to maximize our efforts for meaningful, lasting progressive change in our community, state and country. See the job description and application instructions here.

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Want to Canvass? Three Scenes from a Canvass Outing

SOMA Action’s Democracy Strikes Back campaign is organizing volunteers to knock doors in New Jersey and Pennsylvania now—and we need you to join us, even if you’ve never canvassed. Read all about the adventures of canvassing…

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New Committee to End Gun Violence

There have been two hundred and one mass shootings in this country in 2022. Although not all have been officially designated as racially motivated, they do share one thing in common: the perpetrators' unfettered access to military grade weapons.

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New Book Club Forming
Gail Szenes Gail Szenes

New Book Club Forming

We're excited to announce a SOMA Action Progressive Book Club, in partnership with [words] Bookstore of Maplewood, to engage members more deeply around the issues that animate our commitment to activism and to educate and inspire ourselves and each other to be better advocates for justice.

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SOMA Action Kicks Off Midterms Strategy         to Help Save Democracy
Gail Szenes Gail Szenes

SOMA Action Kicks Off Midterms Strategy to Help Save Democracy

SOMA Action launches its campaign to help win the most critical midterm elections of our lifetimes. To kick off the campaign, a meet-and-greet event will feature two of the three most vulnerable members of NJ’s Democratic House Delegation, Tom Malinowski (NJ-07) and Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11).

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Maplewood and South Orange to Support Reparations Task Force
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Maplewood and South Orange to Support Reparations Task Force

It may surprise some of you to learn that “New Jersey has some of the worst racial disparities in the nation when it comes to wealth, health, youth and adult incarceration and school segregation. This can be tied directly to our shameful history as the ‘slave state of the North’ and the generations of policy-driven structural racism that followed.” Learn more…

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Leadership Changes at SOMA Action

SOMA Action welcomes Jessica James as our new President, Allison Posner as our new Secretary, and Ritu Pancholy Bachawat as our new Executive Committee member at-large.

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New Trustees Join Board

SOMA Action welcomes Cathy de la Aguilera, Erin H. May, and Teddy Ames to the Board of Trustees.

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A Guide to Local Cannabis Equity
Gail Szenes Gail Szenes

A Guide to Local Cannabis Equity

SOMA Action’s Racial Justice - Cannabis Equity Initiative has been working hard behind the scenes as part of South Orange’s Cannabis Task Force. Learn how you can stay informed and voice your support for equitable local policies in South Orange’s cannabis legislation.

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