Our occasional e-newsletter, usually published once or twice a month, with links to events, articles, videos, websites, & more relating to racism & racial justice.
A few about Charlottesville
– We Can’t Keep Coddling White Supremacy, by Rashad Robinson at Color of Change
– A Primer On Responding To Hate In Charlottesville Or Your Backyard, by Steve Tanner at 500 Pens
– “What happened in Charlottesville…” – Tim Wise
– Growing Alliance Between Neo-Nazis, Right Wing Paramilitaries, and Trumpist Republicans, by Spencer Sunshine at Colorlines
– What We Need White Allies To Do, by Lara Witt at Wear Your Voice
– Who’s Coming to Largest White Nationalist Rally In A Decade, by Spencer Sunshine at Political Research
– Stand in Solidarity With Charlottesville – find an event, from Indivisible
WMass Stands With Charlottesville, Northampton, Sunday 8/13
Vigil Against White Supremacy, Greenfield MA, Monday, 8/14
Racial Justice Rising’s activities:
Free Monthly Programs
Saturday morning, August 26
10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m
First Congregational Church of Greenfield, 43 Silver Street Greenfield MA
Organizing For Education Justice
with Marianna Islam, Director of Programs and Advocacy for the Schott Foundation for Public Education
Learn about what is possible when educators, students, parents and community members join forces to improve public education. Learn about the challenges and opportunities in Massachusetts for education justice organizing.
Light refreshments
Childcare is available — RSVP with number & ages of children
Donations most welcome
Saturday morning, September 2
Music of Dissent: Songs of Activism
~ More information coming soon ~
_____
These programs are supported in part by grants from the following Local Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Mass. Cultural Council, a state agency: Amherst, Ashfield, Charlemont-Hawley, Conway, Deerfield, Gill, Greenfield, Hadley, Leverett, Montague, New Salem, Northfield, Orange, Pelham, Shelburne, Shutesbury, Wendell
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.
Vigil For Racial Justice
Every Saturday, 9-10
on the Greenfield Common
Sponsored by Racial Justice Rising and the Visioning Bear Circle Intertribal Coalition
Coming in October:
3 Reading Circles
The Harvest: Brown v. Board, North & South
Support Racial Justice Rising when you shop at Franklin Community Co-op!
Each month, the Franklin Community Co-op chooses two local non-profit groups to raise money for. This month Racial Justice Rising is one of the groups! Shoppers will receive a token for each re-usable bag or bottle they bring for their purchases. The tokens can be dropped in the clear plastic container with our name on it near the cash register. (Cash donations are welcome too!)
Articles, websites, and other resources:
Activism
– Dear Women of Color who are told to be nicer to white “allies,” by Threads of Solidarity: WOC Against Racism at Medium
African American/Black
A friend shared these links with us, saying in part: “These recordings of slave voices and their stories changed my life. Hearing the actual voices makes it so much more powerful. The recordings were made in the 1920’s 1930’s 1940’s. Most of the ex slaves recorded were over 100 years old.”
– Old Slave Narratives
– Found Voices
– Aunt Harriet Smith
– Laura Smiley
=================
– Entire Manhattan village owned by Black people destroyed to build Central Park, by Heather Gilligan at Timeline
– NAACP Issues Travel Advisory For Missouri, by Ian Cummings at McClatchy
Criminal Justice/Injustice
– 12 Things To Do Instead Of Calling The Cops, by the May Day Collective and Solidarity & Defense, at Sproutdistro
– Chicago Judge Rules Defendants Can’t Be Jailed Just Because They Can’t Afford Bail, from Reuters at Huffington Post
– U.S. Justice Is Built to Humiliate And Oppress Black Men, by Paul Butler at The Guardian
Economics
– Just As I Suspected, Paying Rent Is Racist, by DiDi DelGado at Shelterforce
– White Economic Privilege Is Alive and Well, by Paul F. Campos at the New York Times
Education
– How America is Failing Native American Students, by Rebecca Clarren at The Nation
Indigenous
– The Hidden History of the Indian Children Who Died At Carlisle, by Jeff Gammage at Philly.com
– Mascots – Indians, a Facebook post
– New poster: How To Be An Ally To Indigenous People, from the Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign
Latino
– 6 Ways To Fight Back Against Trump’s War On Latinx Immigrants, by Threads of Solidarity: WOC Against Racism, at Medium
– Indigenous Puerto Rico, by Rick Kearns at Indian Country Today
Reparations
– Dr. Cheryl Grills’ keynote speech at N’COBRA’s 2017 annual meeting
– TV Series “Black America” Imagines Nation Built As Reparations For Slavery, by Kaitlin D’Onofrio at Diversity Inc.
Other Groups’ Events:
Sunday, August 13, Northampton MA: WMass Stands With Charlottesville
Monday, August 14, Greenfield MA: Vigil Against White Supremacy
Monday, August 14, Greenfield MA: Public Forum on undocumented detainees being held at Franklin County House of Correction.
Monday, August 14, Brattleboro VT: Racial justice organizing meeting
Wednesday, August 16, Greenfield MA: Show Up To Support Greenfield Becoming A Safe City
Thursday, August 17, Philadelphia: Kinks, Locks, and Twists 2017 Environmental and Reproductive Justice Conference
Thursday, August 17, Greenfield MA: Stand Together Against Racism Barbecue
August 21-23, Brisbane, Queensland, AU: National Indigenous Colour of Justice Conference
Saturday, September 9, Washington DC: March for Racial Justice
Sunday, September 17, Keene NH: Shadows Fall North, a documentary film, with discussion facilitated by JerriAnne Boggis
September 22-24, Amherst MA: Undoing Racism Workshop with the People’s Institute For Training and Beyond. For more info or for more info Registration form
Thursday, September 21, Chicago: Building Racial Equity Training with Race Forward
Thursday, October 19, Washington DC: Building Racial Equity Training with Race Forward
Wednesday, October 25, Springfield MA: The Half Life Of Freedom: Race and Justice in America with Jelani Cobb
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.