Welcome to the April 2016 issue of the Sunflower Seed! In this issue you will find out how to become a sustaining donor, read about Green successes in Minneapolis, hear about local and national Green activism, welcome a new Green elected official, and get updates on exciting upcoming events! Enjoy!
We need YOU to become a sustaining donor!
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Upcoming Events:
Saturday, April 9th
10am-1pm
GPMN Coordinating Committee Meeting
4200 Cedar Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN
Sunday May 1st
1:15pm-3:15pm
Green Party 4th CD Endorsing Meeting (RSVP here)
Rondo Library
461 Dale St N
St. Paul, MN
Saturday, June 11th
10am-6pm
2016 GPMN Biennial Convention
St. Cloud, MN
(Exact location and time TBD, RSVP here)
Thursday – Sunday, August 4th – 7th
Green Party of the United States
2016 Annual Meeting & Presidential
Nominating Convention Houston, TX
(Exact times and locations TBD)
Green Party Minneapolis City Councilmember Cam Gordon’s Plan To Ban Plastic Bags Moves Forward
The plastic bag ban, which passed on a 10-3 vote, was drafted by Green Minneapolis City Councilmember Cam Gordon, who said he's looking to change consumers’ habits in order to get the city closer to its zero-waste goals. The aim of the plan is to encourage Minneapolitans to cut back on their use of plastic bags, reduce waste in landfills, and help Minneapolis get closer to being a “zero waste” city.
At the full council meeting, Gordon said no other issue has attracted so much outside lobbying and money.
Minneapolis now joins over 100 cities nationwide that already have restrictions on plastic bags. The ordinance will take effect on Jun 1st, 2017. Thank you Cam!
(Photo credit: The Journal)
4th CD MN Green Party Spokesperson On Fox News
Trahern Crews, spokesperson for Minnesota’s 4th CD Green party local, was a guest on FOX News on March 18th.
Trahern was alongside guest Ja’mal Green, who helped lead the protests that shut down a Trump rally in Chicago earlier in March, and Herman Cain, former Republican Presidential candidate.
The conversation was prompted from the recent protests and rallies surrounding the Trump campaign and ended with FOX News defending racially charged statements Donald Trump has made, including whether to let the Ku Klux Klan endorse him.
As Trahern put it, the Ku Klux Klan must see something in Trump in order to want to endorse him in the first place.
Listen and watch the news interview here.
(Photo credit: FoxNewsInsider)
Greens March After Non-Indictment In Police Killing Of Jamar Clark
After the announcement by DFL elected Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman that prosecutors will not press charges against the two officers responsible for the death of a young black man, Jamar Clark, hundreds took to the streets of Minneapolis in protest.
Greens, including Minneapolis Councilmember Cam Gordon, marched in solidarity against the obviously bias account of events that night and the refusal to let a public trial deliver justice for Mr. Clark.
We believe that every death or injury at the hands of police deserves a complete, impartial public investigation.
(Photo Credit: Brandon Long)
Green, Margaret Flowers, Forcibly Removed From Maryland U.S. Senate Candidate Forum
Maryland Green Party U.S. Senate candidate Margaret Flowers was forcibly prevented from participating in a candidate forum sponsored by the Baltimore Jewish Council and Goucher College on Monday evening.
Flowers, who had been extended invitations to the debate twice by the organizers, was abruptly disinvited without notice two weeks before the event.
When the candidates were asked to take the stage, Flowers stepped up to remind the BJC that her exclusion was in violation of IRS regulations that require non-profit organizations to be non-partisan.
(Photo/Story Courtesy of Green Party Watch)
Green Party US Calls for The Dropping of Charges Against LA Black Lives Matter Activists
The Green Party of the United States expressed its support for the BLMLA7: Seven Black Lives Matter activists who were arrested in Los Angeles, California, on November 26, 2014 for leading the shutdown of Freeway 101 and are now on trial.
Rosa Clemente, Green vice-presidential nominee in 2008, is among the seven defendants
"The freeway demonstration was a nonviolent act of civil disobedience in a long tradition of peaceful protest against injustice.
The punitive nature of the #BLMLA7 trial is an affront to that tradition. It confirms exactly what #BlackLivesMatter was protesting -- the racism that persists in the U.S. justice system." –GPMN Co-Chair, Lena Buggs
(Photo Credit: PostDefiance.com)
GPUS To Hold 2016 Presidential Nominating Convention In Huston Texas
Every four years, as part of its Annual National Meeting, the Green Party of the United States holds a Presidential Nominating Convention (PNC) to select a candidate for President of the United States. Delegates are chosen by each state party according to its own rules, either by a primary election, caucus, or state nominating convention.
This year's PNC will be held on campus of the University of Houston, in Houston, Texas. The University of Houston is adjacent to Texas Southern University in historic Third Ward, a central location in Houston's African American community.
Huston is a microcosm of the issues that face our society; a rich history paved over by gentrification, stark inequality on display next to environmentally ruined superfund sites evidencing our area's devotion to petrochemical and other polluting industry.
(Image Credit: GPUS)
Australian Greens Elect First Local Councilor In Queensland
Last week, Jonathan Sri made history by becoming the first Green Party candidate elected in Queensland. Sri is the son of Sri Lankan migrant parents, and has already made an impact in a post-election video message discussing the worldwide migrant crisis.
Greens in Australia have had some success, electing candidates at both the local and federal level. Larissa Waters, Australian Green senator, announced Sri's victory on her Facebook page last week with excitement:
"I’m more than a little happy to no longer be the only elected Greens representative in Queensland’s history. This is a huge moment."
For more on Sri's historic victory, see the Guardian article from March 23:
(Photo Credit: The Guardian)