Our occasional e-newsletter, usually published once or twice a month, with links to events, articles, videos, websites, & more relating to racism & racial justice.
RJR’S EVENTS Always free!
SATURDAY, AUGUST 4: VISIT OUR TABLE AT THE POCUMTUCK HOMELANDS FESTIVAL
RJR will have an information and conversation table at the Pocumtuck Homelands Festival, a wonderful annual event organized by the Nolumbeka Project.
Saturday, August 4, from 10-7, Unity Park, Turners Falls MA
SATURDAY, AUGUST 25: CANDIDATES FORUM
10 a.m. – noon at the First Congregational Church, 43 Silver Street, Greenfield MA
Racial Justice Rising has invited candidates for the First Franklin District seat currently held by Steve Kulik to share their views on racial justice. We have some prepared questions and there will be time for questions from the audience.
Five of the seven candidates have agreed to join us. We are hoping the remaining candidates will also be able to be present.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1: VOICES OF DISSENT, MUSIC OF ACTIVISM
10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 43 Silver St, Greenfield MA.
Keep in touch, we’ll have a list of performers soon!
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
We’re hoping to find someone – or more than one person so they can rotate the position – to videotape our monthly Saturday programs and post to our Youtube channel.
Contact us to find out more…
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6: FAIR PARADE
Like parades? Enjoy a nice walk? The Franklin County Fair Parade is on Thursday, September 6, and Racial Justice Rising, along with the Greenfield group Not In Our Town, will be marching with our signs and banners. Let us know by August 14 if you’d like to walk with us!
EVERY SATURDAY
Vigil For Racial Justice
Every Saturday
Whatever the weather
9 to 10 a.m.
Greenfield Town Common
Co-sponsored by the Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle Intertribal Coalition
RESOURCES
Activism & Action
– Do Not Move Off The Sidewalk Challenge: Holding Your Space In A White World, by Hannah Drake at writesomeshit.com
– How To Transfer Your Land To Indigenous Peoples, by Chantal Braganza at TVO
– Pilots stop more than 200 deportations from Germany by refusing to fly, from Independent
– European activists derail deportations, a video from D.W.
– Do’s and Don’t for Bystander Intervention, from AFSC
Children/Education
– Anti-racist book lists from the Conscious Kid Library at Medium
– Dolls representing Muslim girls, from Salam Sisters
True History: Immigration and Separating Families
– America Was In The Business of Separating Families Long Before Trump, by Jeffrey Robinson at ACLU
– The horror of children stripped from their parents, from Indian Country Today
– I Know What Incarceration Does To Families – It Happened To Mine, by Michiko Kakutani in the New York Times
– The U.S. Separates Families All The Time, by Sarah Lustbader at the Washington Post
More True History
– When Crossing The U.S.-Mexican Border Was Not A Crime
– When They Call You A Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrice Khan-Cullors
– Racist History of American Medicine, from Splinter
– Racist History of Banking, from Splinter
Whiteness
– A sociologist examines white fragility, by Katy Waldman at the New Yorker
– Whiteness is the Longest Con, by Tim Wise at Medium
– Think Adopting Children of Color Makes You Woke? by Sunny J. Reed at Nextshark
OTHER GROUPS’ EVENTS
Wednesday, August 1, Springfield MA: Family Jericho Walk For Immigrant Rights with the Pioneer Valley Workers Center
Wednesday, August 1, online: Who Is The Alt-Right? Webinar, with SURJ
August 2-16, online: Why Color Matters, A Consciousness Raising Workshop, with the Center for the Study of White American Culture
Saturday, August 4, Turners Falls MA: Pocumtuck Homelands Festival organized by the Nolumbeka Project
Wednesday, August 8, online: Alt-Right and Immigration, with SURJ
Saturday, August 11, Florence MA: African American History Walking Tour
Saturday, September 8, Florence MA: African American History Walking Tour
Saturday, October 6, Hardwick MA: Confronting Systemic Racism: Listening to Voices For Racial Justice
Saturday, October 13, Florence MA: African American History Walking Tour
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!
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.
– We welcome your feedback!
– Please share with others who might be interested.
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