SOMA Action Blog
SOMA Actions: Week of February 15th
Make the Road NJ National Call In Day
Take Action Against Pipeline Plan for New Jersey Highlands
Take a Virtual Tour of Africana Institute of Essex County
Meet SOMA Action Board Member Lisa Davis
Click through for details
Member Spotlight: Lisa Davis
This week we talk with entertainment lawyer Lisa Davis about her fights against hate and for racial justice with SOMA Action.
SOMA Actions: Week of February 8th
Attend Fulfilling Roe’s Promise: Roe v. Wade Commemorative Event
Make a Personal Climate Commitment
Check out the "African American Women and the Battle for Women's Suffrage" exhibit up now at the 1978 Art Center
“African American Women and the Battle for Women’s Suffrage”exhibit up now at the 1978 Art Center
In honor of Black History Month, SOMA Action member Gail Safian, in conjunction with the Durand-Hedden House, researched and wrote an exhibit honoring the role of African American women in the fight for women’s suffrage.
SOMA Actions: Week of February 1
Snowed in? There are plenty of actions you can take this week from the comfort of your own home!
Register for Bloody Sunday: Memories of a Civil Rights Prodigy this Thursday!
Help Hold NJ Lawmakers Accountable for Jan. 6th Insurrection
Fight Fossil Fuels and Help Make NJ Green
Submit Your Reflective Quotes about 2020
Read Our Latest Member Spotlight: Meet Barbara Velazquez!
Click through for more details!
Member Spotlight: Barbara Velazquez
For Black history month, we’ll be shining our member spotlight on some of our black members who are taking action to make our community better. And who better to start with than Executive Committee member, and chair of the Racial Justice Committee, Dr. Barbara Velazquez!
SOMA Actions: Week of January 25
Register for Bloody Sunday: Memories of a Civil Rights Prodigy this week!
In honor of Black History (Month) SOMA Action, Community Coalition on Race and SOMA Justice are sponsoring this live virtual presentation by Joanne Bland. A Civil Rights Prodigy who Marched on the Edmund Pettus Bridge with John Lewis on Bloody Sunday at age 11. Her first Civil Rights arrest was at age 8! Don't miss this fantastic opportunity to hear and interact with this unparalleled lady. Click through for registration info.
Trump Chicken, Deflated
The Trump Chicken has served as SOMA Action’s unofficial mascot and honorary fundraising chair for the majority of the organization’s existence. but a new administration means a new direction for SOMA Action, so his services are no longer needed.
A larger-than-life icon deserves a proper send-off, so on the evening of January 20th, after the swearing in of President Joe Biden, the Trump Chicken left the local garage he called home and made one last appearance at a SOMA Action gathering in Ricalton Square.
SOMA Actions: Week of January 18
SOMA Actions you can take this week...
Join the CCR MLK Day Observance Today
Welcome New SOMA Action Trustees
Check out ways you can get involved
Sign up & share information about COVID vaccines
Click through for details
Meet SOMA Action’s New Trustees
SOMA Action is thrilled to introduce the newest members of its Board of Trustees: Jeremy Dobrish, Tara Mallon, Allison Posner, Dianne Simmons, and Matthew Skeete. “We had an extraordinary and diverse group of people express interest in serving on the SOMA Action Board of Trustees,” says Mary Barber, chair of the SOMA Action Nominations Committee…
SOMA Actions: Week of January 11
Call to Action to condemn the anti-democratic insurrection on January 6th at the US Capitol
SOMA Action unequivocally condemns the insurrection and seditious & violent actions of Pro-Trump supporters on January 6th, 2021. We also condemn every published lie and misinformation attempt by Trump supporters that culminated in the violent assault on our Capitol and elected lawmakers. This did not happen overnight - it was a long slide into an alternative reality for the MAGA supporters in D.C, aided and abetted by the President himself.
SOMA Action encourages all members to make their voices heard over the coming week by calling Federal and State elected officials to express our collective outrage on the events of January 6.
Click through for a summary of talking points.
SOMA Actions: Week of December 14
SOMA Actions you can take this week...
Register for What SOMA Action Means To Me
Protest Horizon Healthcare Restructuring
Join the Wednesday Georgia Zoom Meeting
Advocate for Cannabis Legalization Bill Social Justice Measures
Click through for details.
SOMA Actions: Week of December 7
Help flip Georgia, protect reproductive freedom in NJ, prevent the privatization of NJ’s only not-for-profit health insurer, Caravan with Make the Road Action, and more! Details can be found HERE.
SOMA Actions: Week of November 30
The work didn’t end on November 3rd! Here are some actions you can take this week:
SOMA ACTION BOARD NOMINATIONS due December 4th
JOIN the Georgia Action Zoom Meeting this Wednesday
SIGN the Climate Petition
REGISTER for the Better Ballots NJ Campaign Kickoff this Saturday
PROTEST Horizon Healthcare Restructuring
ADVOCATE for Cannabis Legislation
Click HERE for more details!
Gas-Powered Power Plant Project Halted!
We did it! After more than a year and a half of relentless grassroots pressure by SOMA Action, Empower New Jersey, and other groups, Governor Murphy and NJ Transit have agreed to halt work on the fracked gas power plant proposal in Kearny, and have set a new goal to develop the TRANSITGRID project with 100% renewable energy…
Recap: "Portland, Policing & White Supremacy: What Can We Do?" with Eric K. Ward
SOMA Action cosponsored last night’s virtual program “Portland, Policing, & White Supremacy: What Can We Do?” with Eric K. Ward with the Summit Foundation, the Summit Interfaith Council's Anti-Racism Committee, and Congregation Beth Hatikvah. More than 100 people tuned in to learn how to work toward toward an inclusive society free of racism, anti-Semitism, and all forms of discrimination, that provides access and equity for all.
The program is available on Youtube at THIS LINK for those who missed it. We appreciate you sharing it.
SOMA Actions: Week of October 26th
We are DAYS away from the election! SOMA Action is CANVASSING, PHONE BANKING & TEXTING from now until November 3rd!
Details can be found HERE.
And don’t forget our virtual event this week: Portland, Policing, and White Supremacy with Eric K. Ward. Register at the link.
Local Artist Sherry Beth Sacks on Art, Activism, and SOMA Action
Sherry Beth Sacks is an educator, the founder of a femininst art collective, and a working artist who calls our community her home. She is also the latest local professional to donate her time and talent to raising money for SOMA Action. Sherry has generously offered to donate the proceeds from her Art Sale to our organization. She has already raised hundreds of dollars for our organization, and there are still several pieces available on her website.
Ballot Box Bonanza: The Votes Are In!
Voters flocked to the ballot drop box in South Orange on Saturday, October 17, to participate in the Ballot Box Bonanza, and more importantly, to vote!
It was SOMA Action celebrating and supporting democracy at its best: encouraging early voting, making it a celebration, and ensuring beautiful weather…
SOMA Actions: Week of October 19
16 DAYS LEFT! You can help by taking the following actions this week:
Flip NC Phone Bank Tuesdays & Sundays
Canvassing in PA and New PA MiniVan and Canvassing Training
PA Phone & Text Banking Every Day!
PA Poll Observer & Hotline Training Multiple Options
Malinowski Phone Bank Thursdays
Reclaim Our Vote NC and New SC Phone Bank Sundays
Prioritize Restorative Justice in Marijuana Legalization
All this, plus “Portland, Policing, and White Supremacy” details (October 27) and a Vanquish the Villains update HERE.