Author: Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity

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Events Updates

Faith-Rooted Organizing – Feb 2022 Training

Registration and more info here.

IM4HI is co-sponsoring a 6-Week Faith-Rooted Organizing Training on the methodology that we use in our work. IM4HI director Rev. Deborah Lee will be co-teaching it with longtime activist and organizer, Rev. Sandhya Jha.

The Faith-Rooted Organizing course starts on Monday, February 21 at 5pm pacific, and each session is 90 minutes, for six weeks. HOWEVER, you can also do it at your own pace and watch the recordings. for people who prefer to engage the material on their own schedule, which also works.

You ARE the Person Your Community Needs

Harness the Power of your Faith, Culture, and Experience

YOU are the most powerful resource your community has. We know that people in faith communities can make a gigantic difference and usher in justice in small and big ways.

Join Faith-Rooted Organizing with Sandhya and Deb, who have been building campaigns with communities of faith for decades. In this course, you’ll select the issue that is most important to YOUR heart. You’ll discover how to effectively mobilize your faith community and create justice that lasts.

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Interfaith Prayer Vigils

Interfaith Vigil of Remembrance and Solidarity

Join us on Feb 12, 2022 for an interfaith vigil to remember the 80th Anniversary of Executive Order 9066 signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt that led to the mass incarceration of 120,000 mostly Japanese Americans. This shameful part of American History must be remembered to ensure the survivors stories are not forgotten, and this injustice is repaired.

During Black History Month, while we remember this legacy in the Japanese American community, we will also be calling for solidarity with: Reparations for African Americans and Stop AAPI Hate. Let us acknowledge that U.S. imperialism globally, xenophobia, and systemic racism have all been common threads that weave our struggles together, historically and today.

We invite people of all faiths, cultures, and traditions to join us!

Speakers include:

  • Jeff Matsuoka, San Francisco Bay Area Day of Remembrance Committee
  • Chizu Omori, Tsuru for Solidarity, incarcerated for 3 1/2 years during World War II
  • Tara U., Berkeley Buddhist Temple, grandparents were incarcerated during World War II
  • Rev. Marjorie Wilkes Matthews, Plymouth United Church of Christ
  • Prof. Russell Jeung, Stop AAPI Hate and Professor at SFSU
  • Chanton Bun, Asian Law Caucus – Advancing Justice, served 23 years in incarceration
  • Joyce Xi, daughter of Chinese scientist unjustly targeted by the FBI

Songs, cultural offerings, and prayers by:

  • Ito Yosakoi
  • Rev. Harry Bridge, Buddhist Church or Oakland
  • Rev. Theon Johnson, Downs Memorial United Methodist Church
  • Elijah Chhum, Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants
  • Minister Cherri Murphy, Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy

The vigil is co-sponsored by:

Buena Vista United Methodist Church, Tsuru for Solidarity, San Francisco Bay Area Day of Remembrance Committee, Berkeley Buddhist Temple, Pine United Methodist Church, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy, Sycamore Congregational Church UCC, CERI – Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants, and Plymouth UCC

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Freedom Campaigns

Estelito Free! Speaking Out!

On December 30, 2021, after more than two years of active advocacy while in immigration detention, Estelito Adiova, an immigrant from the Philippines, has successfully fought against his deportation and was released from the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Southern California.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Estelito after he earned parole following a 32-month prison sentence related to his addiction. While Estelito has been reunited with his family and community in the Bay Area, he has continued to use his voice and experience to help others. This month, Estelito was one of nine detained immigrants that filed a federal complaint to expose the life-endangering medical and environmental neglect inside the Imperial Detention Facility. These include toxic and unfiltered and hazardous air, contaminated drinking and washing water, and exposure to mold at the prison.

IM4HI and others in the Dignity Not Detention Coalition are seeking to close the privately-owned Imperial County detention facility which detains over 500 people and reallocate funds to investments in community health and well-being.