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
Free monthly programs
Saturday, October 7, 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
The Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking The Domination Code
A film by Dakota filmmaker Sheldon Wolfchild, followed by a discussion facilitated by Strong Oak.
Weaving together oral and written history and traditional Dakota beliefs, this film explains the history of US Supreme Court decisions which created legal dominion over non-Christian people and are the basis of our federal Indian laws and policies to this day.
Film screening will be followed by a discussion facilitated by Strong Oak. for more info
Saturday, November 4, 2017: Indigenous Grandmothers
More info to come
Saturday, December 2, 2017: Racism and Religion
More info to come
Reading Circles

October 9, 19, and 28: Reading Circles: The Harvest, Brown vs. Board, North and South
Three reading circles in October, facilitated by Mel Ptacek, PhD. Join us for one, two, or all three.
Monday, October 9, 2017, 2:00-3:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 19, 2017, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 28, 2017, 2-3:30 p.m.
We will examine the history and continuing effects of our nation’s failed efforts to achieve racially integrated public schools. Discussions will focus on the aftereffects of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case, in which the US Supreme Court struck down the “separate but equal” standard in education and other areas of American life.
Photos, video, and links from recent RJR programs
– Organizing for Education Justice, August 26 with Marianna Islam
– Voices of Dissent, Music of Activism, September 2 with Gloria Matlock, Adam Matlock, Licia Sky, Arjuna Greist, and Marcia Gomes
Info and photos from other past RJR programs here
Videos of our programs and more on Racial Justice Rising’s YouTube channel
Vigil for Racial Justice

Do Black Lives Matter To You?
Please join us.
Every Saturday, 9-10
on the Greenfield Common
Sponsored by Racial Justice Rising
and the
Visioning Bear Circle Intertribal Coalition
ARTICLES, WEBSITES, & OTHER RESOURCES
Support Puerto Rico, Mexico
- Here’s How To Support Puerto Rico, from Remezcla
- How To Help Mexico and Puerto Rico, from Latino USA
- Help Residents of Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands Recover After Maria, from Colorlines
- Maria’s Death Toll in Puerto Rico Under Reported, by at Latino USA
- Cuba, Venezuela Offer Hurricane Relief, from TeleSur
- Defend Puerto Rico Hurricane Fundraiser
Education
- A Letter To White Women Teachers: an urgent plea for change, by Laura Baker of Racial Justice Rising and Westfield State University
- Building Social Justice Starting in the Classroom from Teaching for Change
- Teach Us All by Sonia Lowman is a documentary film + social movement, just released on Netflix
- Teaching Tolerance
– Speak Up At School, a guide for teachers - A Punch In the Gut: Vancouver BC high school uses texts connecting Indigenous women to the word “squaw”, by Angela Sterritt at CBC News
- Two Schools In Mississippi and a Lesson on Race & Inequality in America, by Jamiles Lartey at The Guardian
- Rethinking Schools – resources for educators
– Columbus Day project, an invitation to teachers from Rethinking Schools - I Was A Racist Teacher And I Didn’t Even Know It, by Laurie Calvert at Education Post
- Ten Things Every White Teacher Should Know When Talking About Race, by Angela Watson at Cornerstone For Teachers
- 10 Books About Residential Schools To Read With Your Kids, by Chantelle Belrichard at CBC News
- EmbraceRace: Online community about caring for and raising kids in the context of race
- An End to the Privatization of Education and Real Community Control by Parents, Students and Community Members of Schools Including Democratic School Boards and Community Control of Curriculum, Hiring, Firing, and Discipline Policies, from A Vision for Black Lives
- The Gates Scholarship for exceptional, Pell-eligible, minority high school seniors
- How Race-Related Trauma Hurts Black and Brown Youth in Schools, from Psychology Benefit Society
- Immigrant and Refugee Children: A Guide For Educators and School Support Staff, from American Federation of Teachers
- Picture Books That Teach Kids to Combat Racism, from What We Do All Day
- Reading While White: Allies for Racial Diversity & Inclusion In Books For Children & Teens
- Report Hate At School – report incidents to the Southern Poverty Law Center
- Where Are the Teachers Of Color? by Motoko Rich in the New York
Indigenous
- It’s no confederate flag, but the Massachusetts state seal is still pretty awful, by Yvonne Abraham at the Boston Globe
- A Conversation With Native Americans On Race, from the New York Times
Latino
- New digital collection of Latino art from Remezcla
- Irma & Maria, Shedding Light On Puerto Rico’s Colonial Heritage, by Ana Portnoy at Counterpunch
Whiteness
- Complete list of American bigots, by Michael Harriot at The Root
- How To Protest Without Offending White People, by Michael Harriot at The Root
- The Sweet Lull of White Supremacy, or Why White People Hate To Be Called White, by Irna Landrum at Daily Kos
OTHER GROUPS’ EVENTS
Saturday, September 30, Washington DC: March for Racial Justice including March for Black Women
Sunday, October 1, Springfield MA: Dismantling The Legal Institution of 21st Century Slavery
Sunday, October 1, Holyoke MA: March for Racial Justice, in solidarity with Washington march, organized by MERJ
Monday, October 2, Northampton MA: Sanctuary in the Streets General Assembly
Sunday, October 8, Turners Falls MA: Pa’alante Puerto Rico Fundraiser at La Mariposa
Sunday, October 15, Amherst MA: Sanctuary in the Streets Rapid Response Team training
Wednesday, October 18, Northampton MA: Conversation with Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum
Thursday, October 19, Washington DC: Building Racial Equity Training with Race Forward
Friday, October 20, Springfield MA: Perspectives on Racial Justice in the Era of #BlackLivesMatter, a symposium
Friday, October 20, Holyoke MA: Quiero Volver: A Xicanx Ritual Opera
Wednesday, October 25, Springfield MA: The Half Life Of Freedom: Race and Justice in America with Jelani Cobb
Saturday, November 4, Washington DC: White People Marching for Black Lives
Email us your announcements of racial justice-related events and we will include in our listings if possible