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, February 3, 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Immigration and Trump: Franklin County’s Response
More info soon!
Photos, video, and links from recent RJR programs
13TH, film and discussion, January 2018
Race and Religion, December 2017
Grandmother Teachings with Grandmother Jeorgina LaRocque, November 2017
Info and photos from other past RJR programs here
Videos of our programs and more on Racial Justice Rising’s YouTube channel
MLK Day ’18
RJR will have an info & conversation table at the Resistance Center’s 34th Annual MLK Day Celebration in Northampton MA on January 15th. Come say hi if you are in the area!
Vigil for Racial Justice

Please join us.
Every Saturday, 9-10
on the Greenfield Common
whatever the weather
Sponsored by Racial Justice Rising
and the
Visioning Bear Circle Intertribal Coalition
OTHER GROUPS’ EVENTS
Monday, January 15, Northampton MA: 33rd Annual MLK Day Celebration with the Resistance Center for Peace and Justice (formerly AFSC)
Monday, January 15, Amherst MA: Martin Luther King Jr. Kids Celebration and Martin Luther King Community Breakfast
Monday, January 15, Greenfield MA: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration at Greenfield Community College
Thursday, January 18, Storrs CT: Anita Hill speaking at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation
January 18-19, Philadelphia: Reparations Now Symposium
January 19-20, Worcester MA: Radical Dreaming, King, and Intersectional Activism
January 19-21, Springfield MA: Undoing Racism Training with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond
Thursday, January 25, Montpelier VT: Systemic Racism Awareness Day at the Statehouse
Sundays, February 4-March 4, western MA: SURJ Dialogue Circles: Beyond Policing
Saturday, March 10, Easthampton MA: Transforming Education for Social Justice Conference
April 4-7, 2018, Grand Rapids MI: WPC 19, the 2018 annual White Privilege Conference
April 19-21, Springfield MA: Undoing Racism Workshop for Youth and Adults Working with Youth
Saturday May 6, Greenfield MA: All Souls Unitarian Church’s annual Antiracism Film Festival
May 9-12, Ryerson, ON, CA: White Privilege Conference – Global
November 8-10, Detroit MI: Facing Race, A National Conference, from ColorLines
Email us your announcements of racial justice-related events and we will include in our listings if possible. Events from across the country and beyond are welcome!
ARTICLES, WEBSITES, & OTHER RESOURCES
In the headlines:
What President Trump’s Comments Say About His Views On Race, an NPR interview with Dr. Jason Johnson of The Root and Morgan State University
No One Is Coming To Save Us From Trump’s Racism, by Roxanne Gay at the NY Times
The Counter To Trump’s Xenophobic Racism Is Not Exceptionalist Immigrant Narratives, by Shamira Ibrahim at The Root
Activism/Organizing
– We All Have The Duty To Confront The Full Reach of U.S. Empire, by Opal Tometi and Naomi Klein at The Intercept
– Online Author Talks for Organizers
– Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call For Moral
African American/Black
– Before The Bus Strike, Rosa Parks Was a Sexual Assault Investigator, by Ryan Mattimore at History.com
Criminal Justice and Injustice
– Are White Supremacists Infiltrating Law Enforcement? by Angela Helm at The Root
– It’s Time To Overhaul America’s Broken Probation and Parole Systems, by Topeka K. Sam at Open Society Foundations
Economics
Blacks and Latinos Will Be Broke In A Few Decades, by Josh Hoxie at Fortune
Electoral Politics
– Inspiring Black Politicians To Watch, by Orit Mohamed at Blavity
– A List of 100+ Black Women Running For Office, from Awesomely Luvvie
– Political Power of Black Women Signals Need for ‘Whole Person Politics‘ by Tracy Sturdivant at Essence
Food Justice
– Black Farmers Are Sowing Seeds of Health and Empowerment, by Alan Yu at NPR
Health
– Color Line Persists, In Sickness As In Health from a week-long series in the Boston Globe
– How Hospitals Are Failing Black Mothers, by Annie Waldman at ProPublica
Immigration
– Trump Decries Immigrants From ‘Shithole Countries,‘ by Eli Watkins and Abby Phillip at CNN
– Trump Administration Rules that Nearly 200,000 Salvadorans Must Leave Country, by Miriam Jordan at the New York Times
The Invisible Wall: How Trump Is slowing Immigration Without Laying A Single Brick, by Amanda Holpuch at the Guardian
– ICE Kept 92 Somali Immigrants Shackled On a Plan for 2 Days, by Carlos Ballesteros at Newsweek
Indigenous
10 Photos: I Saw What Resilience Looks Like, by Mary Annette Pember at Yes! magazine
Decolonizing Christmas, by Brandi Morin at CBC News
Hugo Blanco: The Future Is Indigenous, by Ted Hamilton at Guernica
Media
– A Dangerous Distortion: Representations of Families, By Race, In News and Opinion Media, a study by Dr. Travis L. Dixon at Color of Change
Read A Good Book Lately?
46 Books By Women of Color To Read In 2018, by R.O. Kwon at Electric Lit
Reparations
– An Invitation for White Reparations by Andrea Ayvazian, at the Daily Hampshire Gazette
– Will the Carribbean Go The Full Distance For Reparations? by Earl Bousquet at Portside
– Facebook group where non-Black people can pay reparations to Black people
Systemic Racism
– Boston Globe Shines Light On Systemic Anti-Black Racism In Boston, by Sameer Rao at Colorlines
– Boston Globe Race Series Shocks White Readers, by Kevin C. Peterson at Huffington Post
White Supremacy/White Antiracism
– The Sugarcoated Language of White Supremacy, by Anna Kegler at Huffington Post
– Diversity Isn’t The Goal, We Must Do Better, by Black Girl In Maine
– What White Women Need To Do To Prevent More Black Women From Dying, by Tamela J. Gordon at Medium
– White Women, Make 2018 The Year We Finally Unlearn Our Racism, by Karen Fleshman at Huffington Post
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.
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