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November #1

 Our occasional e-newsletter, usually published once or twice a month, with links to events, articles, videos, websites, and more relating to racism and racial justice.


Special Post-Election Section

New Voting Restrictions in Place for First Time in 2016, from the Brennan Center for Justice

Voter Suppression Targets Latinx Voters in Red States, by Yessenia Fues at Colorlines

The Electoral College Has Its Origins in Slavery, by David Love at the Atlantic Black Star

Nothing changes for us. We will still be expendable in their eyes,” by Ladonna Brave Bull Allard at the Sacred Stone Camp

White Progressives: It’s Time To Be Transformers, Not Just Have Opinions, by Caitlin Breedlove at Medium.com

Feeling Helpless After Trump’s Win? Here Are 10 Organizations You Can Support, by Yara Simon at Remezcla


Racial Justice Rising’s Upcoming Activities


Saturday, December 3

  Taste of Brazil, The Story of Capoeira Dance

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3rd

10:15 am to 12:15 pm, doors open at 9:45 am

FREE! ALL AGES PROGRAM!

Capoeira, a product of the slave trade between Brazil and Africa, has been described as a martial art, a dance, an art form, and a form of self-defense.

Tuzinho Demelo began studying Capoeira as a child in Brazil and has taught it for many years. In this program, he will share the real meaning behind the dance and demonstrate its complex techniques.

First Congregational Church of Greenfield, 43 Silver Street, Greenfield MA 01301

Free childcare. Please RSVP with number and ages of children.

For more info: email@racialjusticerising.org

Printable flyer

 
Saturday, December 10 and Sunday, December 18

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RACIAL JUSTICE RISING AND VISIONING B.E.A.R. present a two-part workshop

What is the World We Wish to Build? Solidarity in a Time of Supremacy

Saturday, December 10 & Sunday, December 18, 2016, 10 am to 5 pm

Greenfield, MA (location to be announced)

with Mikaela Simms and Janaki Natarajan

We are confronted with racism:

What is it?

What are our learned answers?

Is it a social construction or biology?

What does it look like in the world today …in the U.S. …in our everyday lives?

What do we want? How do we build it?

We will explore these issues, determined to find courses of action.  We will all commit to a place of openness, fearlessness and community when we delve into these issues.

FREE! $10 registration fee can be waived or reduced if the cost would prevent you from attending.

For more info and to register


Save the dates!

Free monthly programs in Greenfield

Saturday morning, January 7, 2017

Learn about the Underground Railroad in Greenfield, MA, with Momodou Sarr and Joan Featherman

Saturday morning, February 4, 2017

History of Housing Discrimination, with Elizabeth Bridgewater


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At our November 5, program, Racial Disparities in U.S. Health Care, Dr. Steve Martin shared statistics, info, and resources about institutional racism in our health care systems.

Learn more


Vigil for Racial Justice

Every Saturday morning 9-10 a.m.  …whatever the weather…

Greenfield Town Common

~ Please join us ~

View the flyer

Co-sponsored by Racial Justice Rising and the Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle Intertribal Coalition


Volunteer

We are a tiny all-volunteer group and our active community of volunteers makes our work possible.

We’d love to hear from you if you can help with any of these activities or if you have other ideas about ways to contribute to our projects:

  1. Help with set-up and clean-up at our monthly programs
  2. Buy and set up snacks, beverages, and supplies for our monthly programs (RJR will pay for everything)
  3. Post flyers for our programs on local bulletin boards
  4. Outreach to groups we aren’t currently reaching well, like youth & young adults
  5. Build coalitions with other organizations
  6. Person with WordPress skills to coach novice users
  7. Person with graphics skills to make flyers, sometimes at short notice
  8. Fundraising and grant writing
  9. Promote our Apology statement
  10. Develop a rides system for people without cars to get to our activities
  11. Develop a phone tree

Click here to contact us if you are interested, or email volunteer@massslaveryapology.org.


It takes a village…

Knia, a high school junior who plans to go to medical school, is part of our village.

Her GoFundMe site, Knia’s Dream To Be A Doctor, will tell you about her dreams and achievements, and how you can help.


More articles, websites, and other resources

Criminal Justice & Injustice

New Massachusetts Hotline To Report Civil Rights Complaints

Report Hate At School – report incidents to the Southern Poverty Law Center

Education

Since When Did Police Officers Replace the Principal’s Office? by Victor Leung of the ACLU

Environment & Racism

The People of Eight Mile, AL Deserve Justice, a petition from Color of Change

Indigenous Peoples, First Peoples, Native Americans

Interactive time-lapse map shows how the U.S. took more than 1.5 billion acres from Native Americans, by Rebecca Onion and Claudio Saunt at Slate

How To Talk About #NoDAPL: A Native Perspective, by Kelly Hayes at Transformative Spaces

10 Ways You Can Help The Standing Rock Sioux Fight The Dakota Access Pipeline, by Jay Syrmopoulos at Free Thought Project

Standing Rock Syllabus, from NYC Stands With Standing Rock

Whiteness, White Privilege, White Anti-racism

White Friends, We Need To Get Real (post from Twitter)


Other groups’ events

Thursday, November 17, in Amherst, MA: David Billings of The People’s Institute will speak about his new book, Denial: The Persistence of White Supremacy in U.S. History and Life

Thursday, November 17, in Lee, MA:  BRIDGE Awards Ceremony with Peggy McIntosh

Saturday, November 19, in Turners Falls, MA:  Beaver Moon Gathering, Connecting Sacred Sites In Nolumbeka

Thursday, November 24, in Plymouth, MA:  National Day of Mourning with the United American Indians of New England

Tuesday, November 29, in Amherst, MA: Collateral Consequences of a Criminal Record

April 28-30, in Kansas City, MO:  White Privilege Conference

Through September 2017, in North Adams, MA:  Mass MOCA Exhibit Wants You To Do More than Just Talk about Race and Violence


The members of Racial Justice Rising are ordinary people who are troubled by the persistent racism that plagues this country. Believing that the damage caused by racism must be repaired before our society can be whole, we work for just and respectful treatment for all. We share a vision of a multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-lingual, and multi-faith community.

Our mission is to:

  1. Help build the movement for racial justice by contributing to a deeper understanding of systemic racism and racial justice;
  2. Engage in restorative activities that help to heal the racial divide and bring justice for people targeted by racism.

While much of our work is focused in our local area, Franklin County, MA, we reach out to and are connected with the broader movements in our region and the nation.


Thank you, readers who send us information for these newsletters!  We welcome links to articles, videos, event listings, and other resources.

Shen

Racial Justice Rising


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