Nijmie Dzurinko

Nijmie Dzurinko

Nijmie Zakkiyyah Dzurinko is a co-founder of the Media Mobilizing Project and a former Executive Director of the Philadelphia Student Union (PSU), a youth organizing group that puts young people on the front lines of education reform. PSU uses new media technologies and best practices in youth development in service of young people and their personal and organizing goals. Nijmie also co-founded the Media Mobilizing Project, an organization that exists to build the media and communications infrastructure for a movement to end poverty, led by poor and working people, united across color lines.

Nijmie Dzurinko, is a lifelong Pennsylvanian and a black and indigenous woman who grew up in Monessen in Westmoreland County. She has lived in Philadelphia for over twenty years.

She is a leader of Put People First Pennsylvania, and was mentored by Willie Baptist.

Married to Roger Michael.

Mentored by Charlene Sinclair.

Membership Assembly

Nijmie Dzurinko September 19, 2015

Put People First Pennsylvania Membership Assembly Year 3: York — with Roger Michael, UmmSalahudeen Burnett, Jacob Hope, Richard Burrill, Maddie Taterka, Jamie Blair, Keon El Mixto Liberato, Beth Blum, Eri Quinha, Ash Robbins, Zack Hershman, Kari Mou, Carla Christopher, Sheila Quintana, Eliel Acosta, Noah T. Winer, Menvekeh Daramay, Ben Palmquist, Zoraida Cecilia, Nick Ospa, Alison Wynder, Clarissa O'Conor, Dinah Dewald and Kim J. Altland.

Palestine

Nijmie Dzurinko, a Philadelphia organizer and co-founder of the International Women's Peace Service (IWPS), participated in the olive harvest in Palestine during fall 2002 and 2003 through IWPS. There, she worked alongside Palestinian families harvesting their crops despite the movement restrictions, harassment, and land confiscations that are part of the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian lands.

Left Forum 2008

Unembedded From Corporate Journalism At Home - Grassroots Media-Making: Panelists will share video and radio examples as they discuss media-making as a critical component of their community organizing, analysis and communications.

• Nijmie Dzurinko, Media Mobilizing Project
• Kat Aaron, Co-Director, People's Production House
• Moderator: Lisa Rudman, Director of Making Contact, National Radio Project

“The State of Black-Asian relations"

"The State of Black-Asian relations:Interrogating Black-Asian Coalition 50 Years After Bandung”

Tuesday, August 2 2005, AFSC Friends Center, 1515 Cherry Street/Philadelphia. Sponsored by the Third World Coalition of the American Friends Service Committee.

In April of 1955, 29 African and Asian nations came together in Bandung, Indonesia for the Asian-African Conference to promote economic and cultural cooperation and oppose colonialism. More popularly referred to as “Bandung,” this gathering was historic because it brought together newly independent colored nations and posed a challenge to western and white dominance. It is believed that the notion of the “third world” emerged from Bandung to demonstrate a rejection of both the west and ideologies associated with it. Bandung has been celebrated and referenced by many activists and intellectuals including W.E.B. DuBois, Paul Robeson, Richard Wright, Malcolm X, Yuri Kochiyama, Vijay Prashad, Robin D. G. Kelley, and Makani Themba-Nixon.

Thus, fifty years later, we seek to explore the possibilities and reality of Black-Asian relations in the US. Join us in Philly as Black and Asian American activists come together to discuss tensions between Blacks and Asians, what we see as the roots of conflicts, how this informs our activist projects, and whether coalition is viable between our communities. Panelists will draw from their activist experiences, which includes international solidarity work, educational justice, immigrant rights organizing, non-profit funding analysis, anti-gentrification projects, queer justice, and anti-police violence work.

Panelists will include: Rodney Camarce, Nijmie Dzurinko, Kenyon Farrow, Helen Gym, Tiffany King, Tamara K. Nopper, Ewuare Osayande.

Moderated by Darryl Jordan, Director of the Third World Coalition of AFSC.

Fattah connection

Rep. Chaka Fattah with Philadelphia Student Union student representatives and Nijmie Dzurinko (center), November 19, 2009.

Town Meeting for Jobs Not Wars

A Town Meeting for Jobs Not Wars, was held Saturday, October 30th, 2010, from 9 AM to 3 PM. Community College of Philadelphia, Bonnell Hall, Auditorium BG-10

Speakers were:

• Rep. Chaka Fattah, US congressman, 2nd district
• Mike Prokosch, community organizer and co-author of The Global Activist's Manual: Local Ways to Change the World
• Jerry Mondesire, President Philadelphia NAACP
• Gwen Snyder, Exec. Director, Jobs with Justice
• Henry Nicholas, AFSCME
• Joe Minott, Executive Director of the Clean Air Council
• Pedro Rodriquez, Philadelphia Civil Service Commissione
• Nijmie Dzurinko from the Philadelphia Student Union
• Chris Hellman, National Priorities Project
• John Bruhns, Iraq combat veteran will speak firsthand on war & jobs
• John Dodds, Director, Philadelphia Unemployment Project

Notebook Bloggers

The Philadelphia Public School Notebook honored its eight community bloggers, who contribute regularly to our site: Helen Gym, Len Rieser, Ron Whitehorne, Samuel Reed, Frank Murphy, Timothy Boyle, Peak Johnson, and Nijmie Dzurinko.

People's Convention for Human Rights

Media Mobilizing Project August 31, 2012:

Our delegation to the People's Convention for Human Rights! Safe Travels! — with Bek Phil, Daniel Feder, Nijmie Dzurinko, Martin Lautz, Sokhom Touchazi, Maria Serna, Milena Velis, Desi Burnette, Miguel Esteban Andrade and Joe Hanzsum.

Ear to the Ground Project

Ear to the Ground Project;

We would like to express our deep respect and appreciation for everyone who took the time to talk with us, and the organizations that generously hosted us during our travels. Interviews were confidential, but the following people have agreed to have their names listed for this publication:

Most of those listed were connected to Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Nijmie Dzurinko was among those on the list.

Media Action Grassroots Network

Nijmie Dzurinko July 16, 2013:

Media Action Grassroots Network staff and board convening! — with Karlos Gauna Schmieder, Nick Szuberla, Steven Renderos, Jen Soriano, Malkia Cyril, Amy Sonnie, Alison Roh Park, Betty Yu, Oshen Rose and Brandi Collins.

National Congress of the MST

Nijmie Dzurinko February 9, 2014:

6th National Congress of the MST — with Saulo Araujo, Charity Mahouna Hicks, Griffin Shumway and Dawn Plummer in Brasília, Brazil.

RoadMap

Nijmie Dzurinko is a consultant with RoadMap, a Freedom Road Socialist Organization affiliated consultancy group .

Helen Gym connection

Helen Gym is close to Nijmie Dzurinko.

"Introduction to Black feminism"

"Intro to Black Feminism" hosted by Sendolo Diaminah Cazembe Jackson, and Adrienne Maree Brown.

Tuesday, August 15 at 8:30 PM

Created for Black August Practice Group.

Sendolo Diaminah August 15, 2017;

Black people! Tonight my beloved sister Adrienne Maree Brown is leading a web discussion about Black Feminism as part of a series of Black August political education sessions hosted by Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and BOLD.

Those invited on Facebook included Nijmie Dzurinko.

Philadelphia comrades

Todd Wolfson in his book "Digital Rebellion: The Birth of the Cyber Left" thanked activists from the Media Mobilizing Project and Philadelphia, including Shivaani Selvaraj, Mica Root, Phil Wider, Nijmie Dzurinko, Desi Burnette, Ron Blount, Alix Webb, Bryan Mercer, Rebekah Scotland Phillips, Kristin Campbell, Hannah Jane Sassaman, Erika Almiron, Rachel Goffe, Megan Williamson, Fred Pinguel, Amalia Deloney, Martin Lautz, John Hough, Steve Chrevenka, Al Alston, Carmen Cuadrado, Amendu Evans, Audra Traynham, Peter Bloom, Lawrence Jones, Charles Clark, Koby Murphy, Quon Chance, Willie Baptist, Liz Theoharis, Liz McElroy, Mohammad Shukur, Bill Zoda, Tekle Gebrehmdin, Patrick Animah, Gary Broderick, Dina Yarmus, Ron Whitehorne, Patricia Eakin and others.

Poor People's Campaign

Jennina Gorman, who is a member of Put People First! PA, and Yvonne Newkirk, who is a member of Coalition Against Death by Incarceration, have found a political home in the growing alliance of organizations and individuals that comprise the Pennsylvania Poor People’s Campaign. Newkirk is working against policies that as she puts it, “test the very fiber of life, decrease human rights, and lower the dignity of some and the health of others.”

Also speaking at the hearing was Borja Gutierrez, co-chair and political education coordinator for the Campaign. He summarized the gains of the group’s “Phase I,” which saw 1,500 people participate in six weeks of nonviolent civil disobedience actions at the Pennsylvania State Capitol. Seventy-six people were arrested.

Key issues Gutierrez lists are lack of living wages, healthcare, affordable housing, clean water and access to healthy food, voting rights, and gerrymandering, immigration, family unity and equitable justice. Political education grounds the contemporary moment in historic worker struggles.

Chapter co-chair Nijmie Dzurinko spoke of how people in the past have overcome “divide-and-conquer” strategies. “There’s a ton of history in Pennsylvania including the presence of the Underground Railroad, organizing in coal country and Mother Jones.”

The organizers say the 2018 midterms will be the last election cycle in which their issues are not meaningfully addressed.

Tammy Rojas is a full time worker, living paycheck to paycheck and receiving Medicaid.

“By introducing me to this campaign they have saved my life,” Rojas said of the campaign.” I truly believe with all my heart and soul that it will be the poor and dispossessed of this nation that will save us from self destruction.”

Dzurinko agrees. In her view, unless things change the poor of today preview the position of the middle class tomorrow.

“The poor and dispossessed have the least stake in the status quo and the most understanding of the depth of the issues we face,” Dzurinko said.

The chapter is planning an organizing tour for the coming year focused on Northern Pennsylvania.

Colorado connection

Nijmie Dzurinko October 25 2018:

In Colorado, had to link up with the Colorado Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival!! — with Michelle Diane and Vinnie Cervantes.

References

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