Olympia SURJ: Showing Up for Racial Justice

Olympia SURJ: Showing Up for Racial Justice Our chapter is multi-racial in membership; all are welcome! Our chapter is multi-racial in membership with a focus on moving white people into action.

Olympia Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is part of a national multi-racial network mobilizing & organizing white people within a multi-racial movement for racial justice. Olympia Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is part of a national network of groups and individuals educating, mobilizing & organizing white people within a multi-racial movement for racial justice. All are welcome to atten

d meetings & events. Through community organizing, mobilizing and education, SURJ moves white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability. We work to connect people across the country while supporting and collaborating with local and national racial justice organizing efforts. SURJ provides a space to build relationships, skills and political analysis to act for change. We envision a society where we struggle together with love, for justice, human dignity and a sustainable world.

04/01/2026

Lessons from the Land:

They will tell you the world is ruined, destroyed, and there’s no hope.

The land will show you that’s not true at all. The earth is 100% full of power and healing and hope.

Excerpt from our Spring Newsletter.

bit.ly/STLTSpring2026

(ID: The words in caption over A pale pink purple sunrise with two California Buckeye branches sprouting fresh leaves.)


04/01/2026

Please join us for a Solidarity day on April 4th, 1-3pm outside of the Northwest Detention Center, 1623 E J St. Tacoma, WA.

Folks are showing up for a solidarity day alongside with JVP-Tacoma, JVP-Olympia and JVP-Seattle to amplify the call to shut down the Northwest Detention Center and to end detentions and deportations.

03/31/2026

This page will be deleted April 15th. See previous post for more info.

03/31/2026

Hi Olympia SURJ Community,

This message is from our email listserve

As you know, Olympia SURJ has been on a hiatus from holding regular monthly meetings and hasn’t been very active other than using this listserv as a way to share info about other projects SURJ members have been working on. We’ll share how to get plugged in to some of those below.

A lot has happened during this hiatus. The work never stopped and is ongoing. However, SURJ National has made some recent changes to their charter/chapter agreement that has made it impossible for the current core organizing team to agree to continue organizing under the name of “Olympia SURJ” any longer.

Which means that Olympia SURJ, in an official capacity, is being deactivated, effective immediately. There are still many ways to plug into anti-racist community organizing in Olympia! Read to the end of the email to see some suggestions on other groups to get involved with.

We wanted to send a message of closure to this listserv of over 880 members. Some of you have been part of Olympia SURJ since its start in 2015, many of you moved to Olympia and reached out shortly after, hoping to hit the ground running and some of you found us by way of other local organizations that are doing crucial anti-racism work in our community over the last 11 years.

To briefly recap the history of Olympia SURJ; In May of 2015, there was a racist police shooting of two brothers, André Thompson and Bryson Chaplin. André and Bryson were shot in the back by (still employed) Officer Ryan Donald of the Olympia Police Department. The Olympia community was outraged and demanded justice for these brothers. Olympia SURJ was created in response to this demand for action as a chapter of the National SURJ organization and in relationship with the local BIPOC organization Full Circle United, which is no longer active.

Over the years Olympia SURJ was a place for people to come together in our community and organize for a less-racist Olympia. This involved conducting sit-ins and disruptions, trainings, door-knocking, showing up to public comment at the Olympia City Council meetings week after week, organizing marches, protests, court support, crowdfunding to get impacted folks needs met, the list goes on…. None of it could have happened without all of you, the many organizers and members over the years that dedicated so much to this work - that is still ongoing in our community. We still need justice for André & Bryson and Justice for Yvonne McDonald. We must remain engaged and active in the fight against racism in Olympia.

Please follow the links below for organizations that are continuing this work in our community and abroad:

NAACP Thurston County: SURJ Core organizer Talauna Reed is one of many Black leaders who are now organizing with our local chapter of the NAACP. Check out their monthly meetings on the last Saturday of the month from 11-1 at the YWCA Olympia.

ABC Reparations Housing Campaign: If you’d like to stay connected to the community of support around the Chaplin-Thompson family, please join the ABC Reparations Email List and follow us on Instagram. We also welcome new people on our little organizing team, which is currently Nomy, Mari, Amanda, and Monica. Email us at [email protected] if you want to hang with us and support this work by strategizing and planning events. It’s a sweet and supportive space, we usually meet on zoom once or twice per month. Save the date for our next Bingo Party & Silent Auction on Sunday, May 24th at 6pm at the Mystic Game Shop!

Sweat & Sashay: q***r, ALL-inclusive, sober, device-free, scent free & MASK REQUIRED monthly dance party with the mission of raising awareness and money for disability and social justice causes. All funds raised always benefit a specific local mutual aid effort.First Saturdays from 6-8 at Moving Parts Dance!

YWCA Olympia: has a mission of eliminating racism and empowering those impacted by oppression.

Immigrant support orgs:
La Resistencia NW
: Undocumented immigrant led group fighting to end all detentions and deportations
WAISN: Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network
LISO: Legal Immigration Services of Olympia
Olympia Whistles
: an anti-authoritarian activist collective in South Puget Sound, home of the Steh-Chass since time immemorial. Originally inspired by activists in Chicago who started using whistles to inform neighbors of ICE presence

Palestine Action of South Sound (PASS): Palestine Solidarity Organizing Group

Oly BBALL (Beautiful Bodies for Abolition, Liberation and Love): mutual aid + solidarity + community connection + relationships + education + resistance

Additionally, if there are any of you that are interested in supporting the continuation of an Olympia Chapter of SURJ or if you would like to get more involved with SURJ National directly please visit the SURJ National website to get started: https://surj.org/new-start-here/.

This message will be added to the auto-reply of the [email protected] mailbox. If there are any organizations that are doing anti-racism work locally that you would like us to include, please email us by April 15th so that we can add it to the auto-reply message for the mailbox. The email box will not be monitored after April 15th. The Olympia SURJ page will also be deactivated on April 15th.

In solidarity,

Olympia SURJ Core Organizers - Monica, Talauna, Lisa, Amanda, and Malorie

20th Annual MLK Jr. Redeeming The Prophetic Vision: CHAOS OR COMMUNITYSunday, January 18th at The Evergreen State Colleg...
01/18/2026

20th Annual MLK Jr. Redeeming The Prophetic Vision: CHAOS OR COMMUNITY
Sunday, January 18th at The Evergreen State College, Tacoma Campus (1210 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA 98405)
2 pm - 4 pm: Community Service and Social Justice Award (Doors open 1:30 pm)
We Can Redeem Martin Luther King’s Prophetic Vision! Under this year’s theme, CHAOS OR COMMUNITY, The Conversation 253, in partnership with community groups and organizations, including Associated Ministries , Evergreen Tacoma , Tacoma DSA , and The Black Panther Party of WA , calls on our beloved community to resist the chaos of our current crises by bringing resolve, resources, and renewed commitment to our twin tasks: sustaining The Beloved Community wherever it manifests and expanding its reach to include the vulnerable, the beleaguered, the excluded, the forgotten.
This intergenerational, multi-ethnic, and participatory event will feature uplifting performances by local artists and musicians, blessings and libations from spiritual leaders, and the presentation of the 2025 Social Justice Awards. Attendees will also learn from local groups providing innovative approaches to creating resilient and diverse communities grounded in equity and justice.
REGISTER HERE:http://weblink.donorperfect.com/MLK
YOUR SUPPORT IS WARMLY RECEIVED! This event is funded entirely by donations. We use the money to compensate artists, musicians, speakers and vendors, and to pay for the social justice awards and the food shared at the event. We need and appreciate your help in honoring the time and talent of local artists and community members in working toward Dr. King’s prophetic vision.
DONATE HERE: http://weblink.donorperfect.com/MLK
WHAT TO BRING TO THE EVENT
Community Resources: As part of the event’s restorative experience—if you’re able—please bring donations of warm clean clothing (hats, gloves, ponchos, jackets, etc.) camping gear (tents, tarps, 18-hr hand warmers, etc.) and toiletries (including deodorant and feminine hygiene products) for our unhoused neighbors.

Join us Sunday, January 18th, for the 20th Annual MLK Jr. Redeeming The Prophetic Vision: CHAOS OR COMMUNITY
The Evergreen State College, Tacoma Campus (1210 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA 98405)
2 pm - 4 pm: Community Service and Social Justice Award (Doors open 1:30 pm)

We Can Redeem Martin Luther King’s Prophetic Vision! Under this year’s theme, CHAOS OR COMMUNITY, The Conversation 253, in partnership with community groups and organizations, including Associated Ministries , Evergreen Tacoma , Tacoma DSA , and The Black Panther Party of WA , calls on our beloved community to resist the chaos of our current crises by bringing resolve, resources, and renewed commitment to our twin tasks: sustaining The Beloved Community wherever it manifests and expanding its reach to include the vulnerable, the beleaguered, the excluded, the forgotten.

This intergenerational, multi-ethnic, and participatory event will feature uplifting performances by local artists and musicians, blessings and libations from spiritual leaders, and the presentation of the 2025 Social Justice Awards. Attendees will also learn from local groups providing innovative approaches to creating resilient and diverse communities grounded in equity and justice.
REGISTER HERE:http://weblink.donorperfect.com/MLK

YOUR SUPPORT IS WARMLY RECEIVED! This event is funded entirely by donations. We use the money to compensate artists, musicians, speakers and vendors, and to pay for the social justice awards and the food shared at the event. We need and appreciate your help in honoring the time and talent of local artists and community members in working toward Dr. King’s prophetic vision.

DONATE HERE: http://weblink.donorperfect.com/MLK

WHAT TO BRING TO THE EVENT
Community Resources: As part of the event’s restorative experience—if you’re able—please bring donations of warm clean clothing (hats, gloves, ponchos, jackets, etc.) camping gear (tents, tarps, 18-hr hand warmers, etc.) and toiletries (including deodorant and feminine hygiene products) for our unhoused neighbors.

See you there!

The 2025-2026 MLK-Redeeming the Prophetic Vision Planning Committee

07/28/2025
07/28/2025

Call upon the Washington State Investment Board (WSIB) to divest from genocide, ethnic cleansing, and the illegal occupation of Palestinian land. OUR GOAL More than one billion dollars of public Washington funds are invested in more than fifty companies directly contributing to Israel’s apartheid ...

Hey there Olympia SURJ community. We haven’t been meeting regularly as an organization, and many of us core organizers a...
07/28/2025

Hey there Olympia SURJ community. We haven’t been meeting regularly as an organization, and many of us core organizers are still organizing behind the scenes. Hopefully just like you are! And if not, there are always ways to plug in. One of the big things we are doing on-going is radically redistributing Love Dollars to people in need to Black, Indigenous and People of Color in our community. We bottom line efforts of mutual aid and community care, it’s the balm for the bombs!

Yesterday a small group of us met strategizing to get this fundraiser to the goal. Tana is the daughter of one of our Black core organizers, Talauna Reed. Click here for more info: https://gofund.me/1558da60

Could you please contribute to this effort and help recruit more donors? We have a few weeks before the goal must be met.

Sharing on social media is so helpful, and directly asking people to contribute is what brings the most success. We really heed your help!

CELEBRATE BLACK BRILLIANCE

Thank you so much.
Lisa, Amanda and Malorie 💛🖤💛

07/28/2025
07/28/2025

Yesterday evening La Resistencia was putting a tent up so that the families that visit their loved ones at the Northwest Detention Center but GEO decided to call the Tacoma Police to accuse us of “Vandalism” when we are only putting a tent up but that is their definition of “Vandalism” just because they don’t like it or that something is bothering them. How come the police doesn’t come to the detention center when someone reports an sexual abuse? Why does the city allow GEO to close the streets without any permission? We need ANSWERS!

07/28/2025

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