Welcome new readers! We are always glad to connect with others who share our commitment to racial justice. We send out this digest of news & info once or twice each month. Let us know if you have any comments or contributions ~ You can learn more about Mass Slavery Apology at the bottom of this page.
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We had a beautiful day on Saturday at the Pocumtuck Homelands Festival, organized by our friends at The Nolumbeka Project. |
Mass Slavery Apology’s activities:
- The Undoing Our Own Racism monthly discussion series is not meeting in June, July, or August.
Join us at our free monthly programs in Greenfield
All programs are at the First Congregational Church of Greenfield, 43 Silver Street, Greenfield MA 01301. (A big thank you to the First Congregational Church of Greenfield for your support!) They are almost always on the first Saturday morning of the month. Free snacks and childcare.For more info: email@massslaveryapology.org or www.massslaveryapology.org
- Saturday, August 8: WHAT REPARATIONS FORCES US TO DO: Racial Justice & Un-Remembering Atrocity in U.S. History with Chris Tinson of Hampshire College and the TRGGR Media Collective.
- Saturday, September 12: Youth Speak Out about their experiences in area schools, facilitated by Gloria Matlock.
- Saturday, October 3: A Program on Today’s Prison System & connections with U.S. slavery, racism, & labor exploitation, with Mel Motel.
Check out Mass Slavery Apology’s new YouTube channel!
We will be posting videos of our programs, and more. Currently available:
– One People, One Earth! with Brother NorthStar
– Black Lives/Black History with Gloria De,Layne Matlock and Adam Matlock
– Video of the April 14 Black Lives Matter action in Springfield MA.
Many thanks to George Aguiar!
Articles, websites, and other resources
Arab Lives
– Are Arabs White? by Khaled Beydoun at Al-Jazeera
Black Lives
– Movement for Black Lives, follow-up with love
– Demand Justice for Sandra Bland, a petition from Color of Change
– Black Women Matter, a video from For Harriet
– Jesse Williams Breaks Down Sandra Bland & Racist Hypocrisy in 24 tweets by Sameer Rao at Colorlines
– Why Is America Outraged for Cecil the Lion and Not for Sandra Bland? by M. David at Countercurrent News
…and a powerful poem, Black Privilege by Crystal Valentine
Criminal Justice & Injustice
– – Black Lives Matter Organizers Labeled as “Threat Actors”, by Brandon Ellington Patterson at Mother Jones
Indigenous Lives
– Petition from Credo Action: Don’t Mine Sacred Native American Land in Arizona
– The Apache Stronghold Comes to Washington DC, by Stephen Boyd at Popular Resistance
– Native Activist Found Dead In Police Custody, by Sameer Rao at Colorlines
Racism
– Ta-Nehisi Coates on discussing racism directly, honestly, a video from PBS Newshour’s Brief But Spectacular
– Prejudice, Racism, Privilege in the U.S. by Kevin Zeese & Margaret Flowers at Popular Resistance
– Next time someone says “all lives matter,” show them these 5 paragraphs, by Kevin Roose at Fusion.net
White Privilege/White Antiracism
– No Time for White Guilt: Why I’m Skeptical of White Allies, by Jaimee A. Swift on For Harriet
– American Racism in the “White Frame” with Joe Feagin, an interview by George Yancy from the New York Times
– How To Be An Interrupter by Aaryn Belfer at San Diego City Beat
Other groups’ events:
- Now through Sept 16, Alabama to Washington DC: America’s Journey for Justice, organized by the NAACP
- Tuesdays August 4 & 18, September 1 -webinar: The Impact of Racism on the Health & Well-Being of the Nation, from the American Public Health Association
- Saturday August 8, Easthampton MA: Awakening Our Hearts: Exploring Authentic Relationships Across Difference at the Insight Meditation Center of Pioneer Valley
- Saturday August 8, Montague MA: 2 films: Kahsatsenhsera: Indigenous Resistence to Tar Sands Pipelines” and “Resist: The Unist’ot’en’s Call to the Land.” Benefit for the Unist’ot’en Action Camp Against Pipelines. 7-8:30 p.m. at Montague Common Hall, 34 Main St, Montague Center. Suggested donation $5-$20
- Sunday, August 9, western MA area: Black August: the Stolen Future of Mike Brown, organized by BLM413 and Orange Ink
- Sunday, August 9, Turners Falls MA: Ferguson, Organized Territory film & discussion, organized by CoRaJus
- Thursday August 13, Cummington MA: Unpacking Racism for White People with Lee Lewis
- Saturday August 15, Manchester NH: We Are One Festival, organized by the Ujima Collective & Latinos Unidos New Hampshire
- Sunday, August 16, Turners Falls MA: Red Cry film & discussion, organized by CoRaJus
- August 20-22, Hampton VA: Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project
- Sunday, August 23, Turners Falls MA: The Mike Brown Rebellion film and discussion, organized by CoRaJus
- Sunday, August 23, Boston MA: The Boston Middle Passage Ceremonies & Port Markers Project will hold a ceremony acknowledging the city as a port receiving enslaved people who survived the international slave trade, as well as the vital role that Africans and their descendants played in the development of both the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the United States.
- August 23, Key West FL: Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project
- Saturday, August 29, Zacatecoluca, La Paz, El Salvador, Central America: 2nd Annual Day of African Descendants of El Salvador
- Saturday, August 29, New Smyrna Beach, FL: Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project
- Saturday, September 19, New England: The New England branches of the NAACP will organize 3 mile walks in their own communities to in solidarity with America’s Journey for Justice.
- Friday, September 25, Washington DC: 21st Century School Integration, the 2015 National Conference on School Diversity from the National Coalition on School Diversity
Our Vision & Mission Mass Slavery Apology is a small racial justice group based in Franklin County, MA. The members of Mass Slavery Apology 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 work for racial justice and system change by:
While much of our work is focused in our local area, we reach out to and are connected with the broader movements in our region and the nation. ——————————————————- Have you read our apology for slavery? Facing Our Unhealed Past starts with a look at how the slavery in our country’s history led to the racial injustice that still devastates our communities today, and concludes with six commitments for restorative action. If our words resonate with you, we invite people of European descent to join us by adding your signatures to the almost 400 we have received to date. We are hoping to use this powerful statement to build a state-by-state trend to make meaningful apologies for the slavery at their roots – starting here in Massachusetts. You don’t have to be from MA to sign – we have signatures from all over the country – and beyond. To add your signature, reply to this email with your name, city, state, and your country if you are outside the U.S. |
Thank you, readers who send us information for these newsletters!
We welcome links to articles, videos, event listings, and other resources.
Because almost half of our 500+ readers are from other regions than our own, we’d love to list more events in other locales.
Shen
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