Weekly Email Update 8.20.18
“Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it has been faced. History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history. If we pretend otherwise we literally are criminals.”
James Baldwin, American novelist and social critic
There's a variety of new listings this week, WeCANners. Take a look and find something new...
HAPPENING TODAY, SUNDAY, AUGUST 19th, 2018
Share the Harvest
sponsored by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, August 19th, 2018 at the Turning Point Garden (the corner of Elm Street and Frost Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 11am-1pm. Please bring your own bags.
Join Edible Brattleboro from 11am-1pm in our garden at Turning Point, on the corner of Elm and Frost Street (diagonally across from New England Youth Theatre) for free, locally grown veggies, herbs, and more. Please bring your own bags. All produce is free thanks to the generosity of local gardeners and farmers. We welcome donations from your garden.
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Spark Teacher Education for The World in Claire’s Classroom
Sunday, August 19th , 2018 at The Root Social Justice Center (The Whetstone Studio for the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301), on the First Floor. 5pm-7pm. Light food and refreshments will be provided.
Join the Spark Teacher Education for The World in Claire’s Classroom as part of our opening Summer Institute. The World in Claire’s Classroom highlights the teaching of Claire Oglesby, who was a beloved lead teacher for many decades at the Westminster West Public Community School. In the four grades of the School, she knew that every child, no matter their background, had the ability to learn. Claire demonstrated the compassion and determination to teach for a more equitable world through observation, inquiry based learning and storytelling.
As a student in the Spark Teacher Education Institute, watching The World in Claire's Classroom was inspiring. Claire provided a clear, practical and local introduction into Social Justice Education. Claire reminds us the importance to teach students to think critically, to learn how to understand ourselves in the world, and to have difficult conversations about fairness with children of all ages.
Today, The World in Claire's Classroom reminds us, that what we teach is both a reflection of the world and the ways that we seek to change it. Spark Teacher Education prepares student teachers for building skills and critical thinking, as we work together to carry on Claire's legacy to strive for a better world for all.
Spark Teacher Education Institute partners with Marlboro College Graduate School to offer a Masters in Teaching for Social Justice. At the same time Spark trains teachers to complete Certification for the Agency of Education, VT, participants work side-by-side for an entire year with skilled mentor teachers, learning to integrate social justice and equity content into the mainstream curriculum.
For more information on Educational Praxis, the umbrella non-profit organization that encompasses Spark, Brattleboro Solidarity, Indigo Radio, and Indigo Institute, please visit our website http://www.educationalpraxis.org/.
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HAPPENING THIS WEEK, MONDAY, AUGUST 20th, 2018 - SUNDAY, AUGUST 26th, 2018
Youth Vote on Ballot at the Brattleboro Select Board Meeting
Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 the Brattleboro Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) on the 2nd Floor in Suite 212. 6:15pm. For more information please contact Rio Daims at 802-275-8306.
Join us for the last chance to get the Youth Amendment to the Brattleboro Town Charter on the Ballot this November.
The Brattleboro community is strongly supporting the Youth Vote Amendment and looking forward to the election in November. Unfortunately, the Town Attorney forgot that the Youth Vote was on the ballot in 2015 and has lodged the same complaint that was overruled then. He was also unaware that the town moderator, Lawrin Crispe, and BCS attorney Paul Gillies have both vetted the proposal. Furthermore, the proposal is endorsed by Lieutenant Governor Zuckerman and supported by the Chairperson of the State Legislature Judiciary Committee, Jeanette White. Sadly, his objections have caused much confusion and now the measure may not be on the ballot in November.
We might have one last chance to get this petition on the November ballot and that would be at the Select Board meeting. First, we need to get the rest of the required signatures by Monday 8.21.18 at 4pm, maybe Tuesday 8.21.18 at 12pm (please contact Rio for clarification). Brattleboro voters who would like to sign please go to Everyone’s Books in downtown Brattleboro or download and print the petition from BrattleboroCommonSense.org and drop it off in the mailbox at 16 Washington Street, Brattleboro. Call the Select Board members and ask (politely) for the Amendment to be added to the Charter, then come to the Select Board meeting and ask for some flexibility. Tell your friends and family!
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Democracy Forum on the Brattleboro Youth Vote Campaign
Wednesday, August 22nd, 2018 at The River Garden (157 Main St., Brattleboro). 12pm-1pm.
Contact: Rio Daims, [email protected]
The Brattleboro Youth Vote is an amendment to the town charter that will enable Brattleboro youth ages 16 and 17 to vote in town elections, serve on local school boards, and serve at Representative Town Meetings. This will empower youth to be active members of the town where they live, work, and pay taxes and will give them a voice in the changes that affect them. Rio Daims lives in Brattleboro, currently goes to Brattleboro Union High School part time, and is home-schooled for the rest of the time. She is the Youth Vote Coordinator at Brattleboro Common Sense (BCS) which advances global issues locally, including war-and-peace, environment, civil rights, and economic fairness. Rio Daims, Youth Vote Coordinator at Brattleboro Common Sense, will lead the Forum. Come find out about the campaign and how you can get involved!
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Protest Vigil at TD Bank
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions
Friday, August 24th, 2018 (and every Friday) at TD Bank Brattleboro (215 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT). In front of the building. 12pm-1pm. Signs will be provided
TD is a major investor in Tar Sands. TD helps to fund the Dakota Access Pipeline. What You Can Do (besides attending the vigils): If you’re a TD depositor, change banks! Founded in 2005, Post Oil Solutions is a 501c3 community organizing project in Southeastern Vermont whose mission is to help empower the people of the Central Connecticut River Valley bioregion in this era of global warming and climate change to develop sustainable, resilient , collaborative, and socially just communities leading to a self- and community-sufficient post petroleum society.
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The Bi-Weekly Solidarity Vigil
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions
Friday, August 24th, 2018 at the Windham Hotel Corner (across from Flat Iron Café, Bellows Falls, VT). 1pm-2pm.
A vigil of community, solidarity and diversity. We are one cause of peace, freedom & social justice for all living beings. Bring signs expressing your passion and concerns.
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Share the Harvest
sponsored by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, August 26th, 2018 at the Turning Point Garden (the corner of Elm Street and Frost Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 11am-1pm. Please bring your own bags.
Join Edible Brattleboro from 11am-1pm in our garden at Turning Point, on the corner of Elm and Frost Street (diagonally across from New England Youth Theatre) for free, locally grown veggies, herbs, and more. Please bring your own bags. All produce is free thanks to the generosity of local gardeners and farmers. We welcome donations from your garden.
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“I Am Not Your Negro”
part of the “Looking Inward at White Power and Privilege” series sponsored by the All Souls Church Social and Environmental Action Committee (SEAC).
Sunday, August 26th, 2018, at All Souls Church (29 South Street in West Brattleboro, Vt 05301). 12pm.
The church will serve a light chili lunch beginning at 11:15am. Both the lunch and the film are free and open to the public. Childcare will be provided upon request (contact [email protected]). For more information, contact George Carvill at 802-490-2052.
The film “I Am Not Your Negro” will be the next offering in the continuing All Souls Church series "Looking Inward at White Power and Privilege” on Sunday, Aug. 26th. In the film, director Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, “Remember This House.” It is a journey into black history that connects the Civil Rights movement to #BlackLivesMatter. It questions Black representation in Hollywood and beyond.
In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, "Remember This House." The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin's death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of this manuscript. Filmmaker Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished.
In February 2017 New York Times critic A.O. Scott wrote, “Whatever you think about the past and future of what used to be called ‘race relations’ — white supremacy and the resistance to it, in plainer English — this movie will make you think again, and may even change your mind. Though its principal figure, the novelist, playwright and essayist James Baldwin, is a man who has been dead for nearly 30 years, you would be hard-pressed to find a movie that speaks to the present moment with greater clarity and force, insisting on uncomfortable truths and drawing stark lessons from the shadows of history.” As James Baldwin wrote, “Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it has ben faced. History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history. If we pretend otherwise we literally are criminals.”
All Souls Church launched the film series last year under the leadership of SEAC. The series explores how unrecognized white privilege hampers our society’s requirement for racial justice.
For more background on James Baldwin, check out this Time Magazine article from 2/17: http://time.com/4680673/james-baldwin-documentary-history/.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Youth 4 Change Meeting
Monday, August 27th, 2018 at The Root Social Justice Center (The Whetstone Studio for the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5:30pm-8pm. For more information please contact Youth 4 Change at [email protected].
Agenda:
5:30pm: Drop in homework time and art making
6:00pm: Food
6:30pm: Meeting and Organizing
Youth 4 Change is for local-area youth 12-22 interested in political organizing around local/state/national social justice issues that are important to them. Brattleboro area advocates and educators are holding a space, and assisting youth in building a strong personal tool kit to organize for change. Using a variety of creative methods, we aim to enable youth with tools for resilience, courage and compassion, while fostering their ability to speak up about issues that matter to them, and to take action in the name of love and liberation for all people. Come explore issues of racial, economic and gender justice through art, movement, first-hand accounts and contemplative practices. Connect with area youth around the issues that matter to you and strengthen your tool kit for action!
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Mother Up! Monthly Meet-Up
Monday August 27th, 2018 at KidsPLAYce (20 Elliot St., Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5:30pm-7:30pm. A vegetarian meal and childcare for ages 8 and under will be provided. RSVP helpful, but not required. Contact Abby Mnookin for more info at [email protected].
Mother Up!: Families Rise Up for Climate Action is a project of 350Vermont that brings together families to talk about the tough realities of climate change and to participate in the transition to a healthier and safer world. We'll share stories from our summers (which may include experiences of severe weather), envision the upcoming year with MU!, and talk about how families can get involved with the "Windham County Rise for Climate - Rally & Ride" on Saturday, September 8th from 3 - 6 pm (see event listing within this email).
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Crisis in Nicaragua
Part of the Brown Bag Lunch Series
Wednesday, August 29th, 2018 at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden (157 Main St., Brattleboro). 12pm-1pm.
Since April 19, 2018, Nicaragua has suffered civil unrest. SIT Dean for Latin America Aynn Setright (formerly academic director in Nicaragua) will discuss the roots of the April uprisings and share perspectives on the current situation.
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International Overdose Awareness Vigil
hosted by the Putney Huddle
Friday, August 31st, 2018 on the Putney Common (133 Main Street, Putney, VT). 6pm-7:30pm.
Please join us for an evening of speakers, music, a candlelight vigil and sharing of stories / photos to remember loved ones lost to substance abuse.
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We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights for All Banner Rising
Sunday, September 2nd, 2018 on Main Street in Brattleboro, VT. 8am.
The banner will fly over Main Street in Brattleboro, Sept 2nd to Sept 9. The Fire Co. hangs the banner at 8 am or a little after. The Works will be open. Show your strength: Come and watch it go up.
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Labor Day Rally Celebrating the Workers of the World
with We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights for All
Monday, September 3rd, 2018 at Piny Park (corner of High and Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5:30pm-6:30pm.
Join us for political speeches and revolutionary songs for peaceful revolution.
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Windham County Rally & Ride: A Rise for Climate Solidarity Action
Saturday, September 8th, 2018. Pedal Bikers meet at the Brattleboro Area Farmers’ Market Parking Lot [570 Western Ave (Route 9), Brattleboro, VT, 05301]. Walkers (including stilt-walkers and drummers) meet at the bike racks across from the Brattleboro Food Co-op (2 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) to march up Main Street. Both groups will convene at the Brattleboro Commons (Park Place, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) for a planned Rally. 3pm-6pm. Families with kids welcome! And all are welcome at the rally, whether or not you're able to join in the ride or the march. RAIN DATE: Sunday, September 9th, 3pm-6pm.Questions? Want to borrow a bike? Have ideas for the rally? Email us at [email protected]. RSVP here - https://actionnetwork.org/events/critical-and-kidical-mass-bike-rally-for-climate-action/. More info at 350.org/rise.
On September 8th hundreds of rallies will be held in cities and towns around the world as part of the "Rise for Climate" to demand our local leaders commit to building a fossil free world that works for all of us. This date has been chosen to precede the Global Climate Action Summit that will be happening in San Francisco from September 12th - 14th. Join us as we hold our local leaders to account and demand that they walk the talk on climate action!
Agenda:
3pm: Pedal bikers meet in the Brattleboro Farmers' Market parking lot to bike together in a critical/kidical mass. Walkers (including stilt-walkers and drummers) meet at the bike racks across from the Brattleboro Food Co-op to march up Main Street. Both groups travel to the Brattleboro Common.
4 pm: Rally at the Common! All are invited to attend!
Speakers: Representative Mollie Burke, youth, and more!
Bicycle "petting zoo"
Creating a People's Transportation Plan
Bike stencils for t-shirts and canvas bags
Face-painting and kids activities
Tabling from local and regional orgs
Live music and refreshments!
Our hope is to get as many people as possible out on the streets of Brattleboro pushing for more support for active transportation and a lower transportation carbon footprint. Families with kids welcome! And all are welcome at the rally, whether or not you're able to join in the ride or the march.
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RESOURCE FOR WeCAN: Rapid Response Text Alert System
When WeCAN began, Song & Solidarity set up a Rapid Response Text Alert System for WeCAN Groups. Directions for signing up are on WeCAN's website, here: https://www.wecantogether.net/rapid_response We were reminded of the Rapid Response text alerts system as President Trump moves towards firing Mueller. In the event Mueller is fired, MoveOn is planning a nation-wide simultaneous protest. The trick will be to get the word out fast if/when the time comes. We are grateful to Song and Solidarity for providing this service.
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STANDING REGULAR MEETINGS
Lost River Racial Justice, Black Lives Matter-South, and People Of Color Caucus Regular Meeting
Reoccurring racial justice organizing meetings every 2nd Monday at The Root Social Justice Center (The Whetstone Studio of the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) on the First Floor. 6pm-8pm.
Childcare provided. Fragrance & nut free space.
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Alternatives to Suicide
Every Wednesday, 6pm-7:30pm at the Hive Space (24 Flat St, Suite 202, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). Second Floor, up one flight of stairs.
Alternatives to Suicide is a mutual support group open to anyone who has experienced thoughts of suicide. The group is guided by a charter of values provided by the Western Mass Recovery Learning Community. The group is non-clinical and does not link suicide with illness. Participants are free to talk about and find meaning in their experiences in/on their own terms.
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ONGOING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING
Indigo Radio
Sundays at 12pm on Brattleboro Community Radio 107.7FM
To stream live: Visit www.wvew.org
Indigo Radio, deepening understanding and making connections! IndigoRadio is a group of area educators seeking to learn through engaging with others in our community and throughout the world. We will be talking about educational and social issues both globally and locally and connecting them to our lives and Brattleboro community. Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indigoradiowvew/. For archive recordings of past shows: https://soundcloud.com/user-654648353
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Thank you for your continued support, Windham County. Have a productive and educational week!
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