HISTORY: ANNUAL DINNER, MAY DAY, VRA, ZPAC

The more things change, the more they remain the same, they say. But though we are still fighting so many of the same battles, we have not only stayed on the field but steadily moved forward, in ways our parents and grandparents could perhaps see better than we do now.

A TASTE OF ANNUAL DINNER HISTORY

Metro Justice has been doing dinner fundraisers since we were Friends of Fight. But they haven’t always been Annual Dinners. Various older members have remembered spaghetti dinners of years past, and Denise Young was able to help me tie down a few details on those: they were held until sometime in the 1980s in church basements with kitchens (she remembers Immaculate Conception in Cornhill), and were considered more in the way of periodic fundraisers than a specifically annual event. Jon Greenbaum was able to add more to the story. Click here to learn more!

AND A LITTLE MAY DAY HISTORY AS WELL

Doug Noble shared an article his brother in Seattle wrote for the Freedom Socialist Party's May Day rally there. It has a great brief history of the day - which we honored here in Rochester with a rainy day rally and march seen in the photo above. Are you wondering right now what all our organizing over the years has accomplished? Here is a link to the Seattle leaflet!

SCOTUS FAILS DEMOCRACY

Sadly, the Supreme Court honored the week in quite a different way (abc news commentary), by reminding us all too forcibly of what we fought for and won in the 1960s - which white majorities have been chipping away at ever since, with power grabs cloaked under names like "race blind" policy. We at Metro Justice have always said that we cannot rely on voting and elections to fix our issues. Now we cannot rely on the institution tasked with interpreting U.S. law to do so with liberty and justice for all. Our work is focused on empowering people to change what we can at the local level, and we will continue to commit to those priorities. But having in the past failed to comment in a timely way on significant national and international events, it was impossible to let this latest atrocity pass without comment. It has been heartening to see US unions, last year and this May Day, reaching out to ALL workers of this nation, because it will take all of us working together to beat back this latest attempt to stifle so many poor and working class voices. We heartily join in the call, across the nation from here to Seattle, to join together against "the mean-spirited billionaires and their class cronies" decried in the May Day leaflet linked above.  

UPCOMING EVENTS

Check out our new Event Calendar!

It includes all of the events listed below, but in a regular calendar format. 

TODAY, May 4, 3:30 pm Rundel Library Arts Meeting Room planning meeting for the Zoning and Permitting Accountability Coalition's fight to keep a few individuals from overturning the City Planning Commission's denial of Verizon's Special Permit application to build the cell tower on Portland and Oneida. Click the link for meeting information, including optional zoom link.

Thursday, May 7, 9:30 am Register here for Haudenosaunee 101, a virtual Cultural Awareness Training designed to build shared understanding and strengthen respectful collaboration. This virtual session, led by Chief Spencer Lyons of the Onondaga Nation, will introduce participants to the foundational teachings and values that guide Haudenosaunee. The training will provide an overview of Haudenosaunee cosmology, social and governance structures, and the historical impacts of colonialism, and its continuing impacts today.

Saturday, May 9, 5-8 pm Metro Justice Annual Dinner AFSCME Hall, 1956 Lyell Ave (just east of 390 Lyell Ave. exit). Our Annual Dinners have for many years been a mainstay of our annual fundraising, supporting our outreach and organizing work. Please use the link to sign up for tickets today, so that our fundraising volunteers are not madly scrambling to keep up with tickets and tables at the last minute. Thank you!

Monday, May 11, 7-8 pm Our Western NY Hub of the Campaign for New York Health will meet on zoom to examine the new white paper (due out on 5/11) on municipal, county and school district savings under the New York Health Act, and plan for press conferences and Town Hall meetings in Rochester and Buffalo

Tuesday, May 12, 1-2 pm Tracking Nursing Home Dollars: Oversight and Insights Ernest Tosh of the Long Term Care Community Coalition will provide an overview of nursing home finances and profitability, offering insights into how financial practices influence operations, staffing, and resident care. Click here to register for the webinar. 

Sunday, May 17, 12:30-2 Metro Justice Volunteer engagement/New Member meeting, on zoom and in person at the Metro Justice office, 389 Gregory Street. These meetings are lively, informative, and a great way to meet new people as well as learn how we get work done to promote equity and social justice in Rochester! 

Monday, May 18, 4:30 pm at City Hall, 30 Church Street Zoning and Permitting Accountability Coalition press conference highlighting the attempt to hijack the City Planning Commission decision on Portland Ave. cell tower, followed by CPC meeting at 5 and hearing at 6. Final planning will be completed today, but save the date!

Thursday, May 21, 1-2:30 pm Henrietta Public Library and on zoom, Elder Justice Committee monthly meeting

DESKTOP ACTIONS     

Ongoing - as is a search for volunteers to help keep this section updated! Click here to help!

Demand Progress invites us to sign their petition urging Congress to block Paramount's deal to buy Warner Brothers. The merger violates antitrust laws, would hurt consumers and artists, and poses serious ethical concerns, including allowing Trump and allies to increase their control of news media.

With student loans now being moved from the Department of Education to the Treasury Department, the system is clearly in transition. Borrowers shouldn’t pay the price for that chaos. Sign the petition demanding an immediate payment pause so the government can get this right and put Americans first.

Add your name to the letter to New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to bring the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act to a vote! This Act would greatly reduce the amount of single-use packaging that we pay for - in money, health and climate. Our goal is 10,000 letters sent; 1,669 sent as of 3/31/2026. 

Help end federal violence against Cayuga Nation in central NY: information link and gofundme link ($6,405 raised of $9,000 goal as of 3/31/26)

Tell Governor Hochul to pass NY4All with this one-click email tool. And call her office regularly at (518) 474-8390. NY4All would prohibit both formal and informal collusion between local police and ICE/CBP in perpetuity. Hochul has proposed her own legislation which only covers formal collusion for the next 3 years: Hochul’s proposal is weak and irrelevant, New York must pass NY4All into law. (2,278 messages sent of 3,000 goal as of 3/31/26)

The Campaign for New York Health is doing ongoing work with collaborators to push for passage of the New York Health Act, the best response our state could make to the disastrous healthcare cuts by the Trump administration. Sign our petition to legislative leadership here, and use this tool to email your Senator and Assemblymember.

Do you know where your birth certificate is? Three voter suppression bills (the SAVE Act) in the federal House and Senate would force Americans to present a passport, birth certificate, or other citizenship papers in order to register to vote in federal elections, and are clearly designed to deter millions of people from casting their ballot in our democracy. Click here to thank your Democratic senators for holding the line, and encourage them to continue, or encourage Republicans to rethink their support.

LEARN MORE

Rochester Gardeners Resource Guide  Tis the season! This info-packed guide includes items about free soil testing for home gardeners and other resources available to beginners and experienced gardeners alike! Gardening has been done in our soil for thousands of years. Today, it is a revolutionary practice.