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:
Monthly programs
Saturday, August 26, 2017
10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Greenfield, 43 Silver Street, Greenfield MA 01301
Presenter Marianna Islam will discuss what is possible when educators, students, parents and community members join forces to improve public education, and about the challenges and opportunities in Massachusetts for education justice organizing.
FREE!
More info soon
Photos, video, and links from recent programs
- The Real Story of American History, June 3rd with Naimah Muhammad and Kathleen Anderson
- Racial Justice in the Courts, May 27 with Buz Eisenberg
- Have You Seen My Childhood, May 6 with Karmen Smith
Info and photos from other past RJR programs here
Videos of our programs and more on Racial Justice Rising’s YouTube channel
“Do Black Lives Matter To You?”
Please join us at a Vigil For Racial Justice
Every Saturday, 9-10, on the Greenfield Common
Sponsored by Racial Justice Rising and the Visioning Bear Circle Intertribal Coalition
Saturday, August 5, 10-7
Racial Justice Rising will be at the Pocumtuck Homelands Festival with information and conversation.
Unity Park, Turners Falls
Come say hi!
Articles, websites, and other resources:
Activism
– There Are Ways To Reduce Racial Bias. Calling People Racist Isn’t One of Them, by German Lopez at Vox
– Practicing Civic Courage In Our Time, by Martha McCoy at Everyday Democracy
– Bystander Intervention Training from the Montgomery County (MD) Civil Rights Coalition
Black History & Present
– The Atlantic Slave Trade: What Too Few Textbooks Told You, by Anthony Hazard, from TED Ed
– Hey Black America, Let’s All Ditch Our Slave Names, by Zaron Burnett at The Bigger Picture
– I’m Black and I’m Afraid of Black Men, an article on implicit bias by Issac Baily at CNN
Colonization/Decolonization
– The Significance of Acknowledging the Indigenous Land We Stand On, by Ramna Shahzad at CBC News
– “I was colonized… and I have mastered their world”, a video of Phyllis Young/Woman Who Stands By Water, from Other Story
Criminal Justice/Injustice
– Don’t Train Kids How To Survive Police Encounters, Teach Cops How To De-Escalate, by Lincoln Anthony Blades at Teen Vogue
– Mass Incarceration, Visualized, an animated video from the Atlantic
– Lifesaving Advice From A Black Woman Held At Gunpoint By Police, by Tonya Jameson at The Undefeated
– Unjust and Unconstitutional: Marijuana Arrests in Mayor DiBlasio’s New York, from the Drug Policy Alliance
– Black Judge Removes Mississippi Flag With Confederate Emblem From Court, by Doug Criss at CNN
– Are We Listening Now? by Ryan Williams Virden
Education
– The Gates Scholarship for exceptional, Pell-eligible, minority high school seniors
– How The Systemic Segregation Of Schools Is Maintained By ‘Individual Choices’, from Fresh Air Ed at NPR
Indigenous
– Interactive Map of Native Lands, from Native-Land.Ca
– Systemic Oppression of Indigenous People No Cause For Celebration, by Doreen Nicole at rabble
– This Is My Land: Indigenous Women Chiefs Protecting The Amazon, by Charlotte Jansen at Broadly
Whiteness
– My Fellow White People, We Need To Talk, by Fog City John at the Daily Kos
– The Painful And Liberating Process of Facing My Own Racism, by Courtney E. Martin at OnBeing
– Woke White Guy Goes In On Racism and Caucasians Lost It, from BET
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Summer reading list suggestions…
– Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi, “chronicles the entire story of anti-Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history.” Winner of the 2016 National Book Award for nonfiction.
– 12 Ethnic Studies Books That Arizona Doesn’t Want You To Read, by Yara Simon at Remezcla
– A selection for children, young adults, and educators from Social Justice Books
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Other Groups’ Events:
August 4-6, New Haven CT: Undoing Racism with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond
Saturday, August 5, Turners Falls MA: Pocumtuck Homelands Festival, organized by the Nolumbeka Project.
Monday, August 7, Cambridge MA: Systemic Racism and the Legacy of Education
Saturday, September 9, Washington DC: March for Racial Justice
Through September, North Adams MA: Mass MOCA Exhibit Wants You To Do More Than Just Talk About Race and Violence
Thursday, September 21, Chicago: Building Racial Equity Training with Race Forward
Thursday, October 19, Washington DC: Building Racial Equity Training with Race Forward
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
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