Our occasional e-newsletter, usually published once or twice a month, with links to events, articles, videos, websites, & more relating to racism & racial justice.
Racial Justice Rising’s activities:
|
Saturday, January 7 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. First Congregational Church, 43 Silver St, Greenfield FREE The Road To Freedom, Anti-Slavery Activity in Greenfield with Momodou Sarr & Joan Featherman Did you know that in the 1800s, Greenfield was home to an active regional abolition group? We will learn about the Franklin County Anti-Slavery Society, local Underground Railroad sites, and area abolitionists, and we will draw parallels between the multi-faceted strategies used in the 1800s to defeat slavery and strategies we can use now to defeat the renewal of racism and other injustices. |
Upcoming programs Save the dates! Saturday morning, February 4 History of Housing Discrimination with Elizabeth Bridgewater Past program updates
A video of our October community forum, Building Relationships with the Community and the Police, is now online.
More resources from our November program, Racial Disparities in U.S. Healthcare, are now available, including Dr. Steve Martin’s slideshow. Click here & see Links at bottom of page. |
|
VIGIL FOR RACIAL JUSTICE Every Saturday morning 9-10 a.m., Greenfield Town Common ~ Please join us ~ Co-sponsored by Racial Justice Rising and the Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle Intertribal Coalition |
Articles, websites, and other resources
2016 in Review
– 10 Times Black Women Kicked White Supremacy’s Ass in 2016, from Afropunk
– The Kids Who Rocked The Racial Justice Movement in 2016, by Kenrya Rankin at Colorlines
– 30 0f the Most Important Articles by People of Color in 2016, by Zeba Blay at Huffington Post
Activism
– The Injustice Boycott, relentless, principled, organized long-term resistance, with Shaun King
– SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) Is Hiring To Support Rural Organizing
– In New York, Activists Prepare Bystanders to Take Action Against Harassment, by Hansi Lo Wang at NPR
African Americans, Black History, Slavery
– My President Was Black, by Ta-Nehisi Coates at The Atlantic
– America’s Original Sin: Slavery Never Ended, It Evolved, with Jim Wallis at NewsOne
– What The Lynching Memorial Will Force Us All To Face, by Jonathan Capehart at the Washington Post
– Black People’s Burden of Forgiveness, a video from the Atlantic Black Star
Black Lives Matter
– 5 Milestone Accomplishments This Year By Black Lives Matter, by Collier Meyerson at Fusion
– Black Lives Matter Launches Website Supporting Black Businesses, by Jordie Davies at BlackYouthProject
Colonization/Decolonization
– An Open Letter to White People on Becoming Indigenous, by Adebayo Akomolafe at Unsettling America: Decolonization in Theory and Practice
– A Gentle Reminder That Jesus Was A Brown Middle Eastern Refugee Who Would Not Have Voted for Trump, by Sara Benincasa at Medium.com, and
– Jesus Was Not a White Conservative, Jesus Was A Palestinian Dissident, by Ben Norton
Education
– Colleges Respond To Racist Incidents As If Their Chief Worry Is Bad PR, by Peter Schmidt at the Chronicle of Higher Education
Economics
– Insurance Policies on Slaves: NY Life’s Complicated Past, by Rachel L. Swarns at the New York Times
Employment
– Confronting Racial Bias At Work, from Race Forward
History
– Was America Ever Great? a funny, truth-telling video from Charity Croff
Housing
– Unequal: How People of Color Were Kept From Owning A Home, a video from The Root
Immigration
– “Justice Fund” to Cover Legal Costs for Immigrants Facing Deportation, by Kaitlyn D’Onofrio at Diversity, Inc.
Indigenous, First Peoples, Native Americans
– December 29, 1890: Anniversary of Wounded Knee Massacre, from the Zinn Education Project
– 20 Photos, My 7 Months At Standing Rock, by Desiree Kane at Yes! Magazine
Reparations
– Germany Was Responsible For The Genocide of Thousands of Namibians. Now It’s Finally Ready To Talk Reparations, by Tanasia Kenney at Atlanta Black Star
Whiteness, White Privilege, White Antiracism
– Bill Ayers On Being a White Ally and the Future of Progressives, by Lorraine Forte at Truthout
– Maybe We Do Need A White History Month… by Michelle Smith at The Bluest Eye
– Using Racism To Divide and Conquer! Tim Wise on video
Other groups’ events:
- Throughout the year, various locations: Interactive Racial Justice Trainings with Race Forward. Skills and strategies to address structural racism and advance racial equity, with emphasis on how to challenge and change institutional racial inequities.
- Starting on Tuesday, January 10, online: Healing From Toxic Whiteness, an online training program for white people committed to racial justice, from Everyday Feminism
- Thursday, January 19, Amherst MA: Film and discussion: We Need To Talk About An Injustice, a video talk by Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative, followed by action projects in small groups.
- March 17-18, Palm Beach FL: Black Women Rise Conference, a 2-day multigenerational, multiracial gathering with keynote speaker Dr. Angela Davis
- April 28-30, Kansas City MO: White Privilege Conference
- Through September 2017, 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:
- Help build the movement for racial justice by contributing to a deeper understanding of systemic racism and racial justice.
- 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
– We welcome your feedback!
– Please share with others who might be interested.
– To be removed from this email list, please reply with “remove” in the subject line.