Windham County Action Network (WeCAN)

"If we moved from industrialized agriculture to re-localized organic agriculture, we could sequester about one quarter of the carbon moving into the air and destroying our glaciers, oceans, forests and lands."
Winona LaDuke
a Native American environmentalist, economist, hemp grower, and writer, known for her work on tribal land claims and preservation, as well as sustainable development

     Activism options this week include a Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Caucus, a Restorative Justice Community Workshop, a Democracy Forum highlighting modern Jim Crow America, and a Pride march in Greenfield, MA, amongst others. Consider attending an event outside of your comfort zone this week, Friends: bring a friend or make a new friend and get to work changing our County for the better. Have a great week!

HAPPENING THIS WEEK, MONDAY, JUNE 10th, 2019-SUNDAY, JUNE 16th, 2019

Racial Justice Organizing Meeting: BIPOC Caucus and Lost River
Monday, June 10th, 2019 at The Root Social Justice Center (The Whetstone Studio for the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5:45pm-8pm. Light Vegetarian dinner is provided and folks are encouraged to bring something to share. Childcare is provided.
Black, Indigenous, People of Color Caucus and Lost River Racial Justice members host Racial Justice Organizing meetings. We invite all those who wish to join the movement for racial justice and organize for change to attend these monthly meetings.
*What will this meeting be like?* Each of our meetings will include time and space for:
-Introductions and to talk about what we are working on
- Breakout time for the BIPOC Caucus, a space for those who self-identify as people of color to build relationships, leadership capacity, and community organizing power for the issues that are impacting lives of People of Color 

• Breakout time for Lost River Working Groups, including Fundraising (planning monthly events to benefit The Root SJC Racial Justice/ BIPOCC, Lost River Racial Justice), Ready Response (showing up for specific racial justice campaigns and actions), and Political Education
  -Direct accountability and support from white allies/Lost River to the BIPOCC and communities of color with issues of need or concerns that might arise
  -Community announcements and relationship-building

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Restorative Justice Community Workshop Monday, June 10th, 2019 on the SIT Campus (1 Kipling Rd, Brattleboro, VT 05301) in Rotch Hall. 6:30pm-9pm. Free, all are welcome. Call 802.258.3527 for information or for questions about accessibility or disability-related accommodations.
Presented by a coalition of Windham County restorative practices organization, the workshop will focus on the importance of restorative practices in resolving conflict. These practices include communication skills and cultivating a deeper understanding of attitudes and people from different background. The workshop will include participants from SIT’s CONTACT Summer Peace-Building Workshop, which draws participants from around the world.

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Jim Crow America: A Brattleboro Democracy Forum with Tim Kipp
Wednesday, June 12th, 2019 at the River Garden (157 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 12pm-1pm. For more information please contact Woody at [email protected]  or call 802 464 3154.
Jim Crow in the United States doesn't  just come in hooded robes and burning crosses; it is a systemic reality that infects all aspects of American life, political, economic, judicial, gender, and labor. The power of Jim Crow has been used to suppress liberal and radical dissent and was a model for Hitler and the Nazis. This presentation will focus on the 19 and 20th century history of racism. Please join the conversation.
Presenter: Tim Kipp, Tim taught history and political science for 39 years and has been a political activist since the 1960s.

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Community Concert with May Cay Brass and Choirs
Thursday, June 13th, 2019 at SIT Graduate Institute International Center (1 Kipling Road, Brattleboro, VT, 06301). 7pm-8:30pm. For more information and questions about accessibility or disability-related accommodations for this event please call 802-258-3527.
Join choirmaster Mary Cay Brass and her community choirs for a free community concert in celebration of the CONTACT Summer Peacebuilding Program at SIT. These choirs perform music from the Balkan countries including songs and chants from the Orthodox, Islamic and Sephardic spiritual traditions of Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia. The choirs also explore vocal traditions of various African countries, the Republic of Georgia, the British Isles as well as many American folk traditions This 90+ voice group sings a dynamic cornucopia of soulful, thrilling songs of joy, hope, peace and courage from many cultures.

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Protest Vigil at TD Bank
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions
Friday, June 14th, 2019 (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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3rd Annual Franklin County Pride March and Rally (Massachusetts) 
hosted by Franklin County Pride, Inc.
Saturday, June 15th, 2019 at Greenfield Energy Park (50 Miles St, Greenfield, MA 01301). 12pm-3pm.
The 3rd Annual Franklin County Pride March & Rally will take place at Greenfield Energy Park on Saturday, June 15, 2019 from 12-3pm.  Visit our website https://www.franklincountypride.org/events for all the details. Join us!
Accessibility: Franklin County Pride, Inc. values the experiences and voices of all ages, especially elders and youth, and we strive to make our events family friendly and accessible for all. We aim for inclusion for those with physical and mobility challenges, and audio and visual impairment. Please contact [email protected] with additional questions. 
At the FC Pride March and Rally accessibility strategies include:
-ASL interpretation of the performance.
-Large print programs available for those with visual impairment.
-Venue is fully wheelchair-accessible, including wide gravel access down to stage area. Some vendors will only be accessible via grass. 
-Shade tent with seating.
-Gender-neutral and wheelchair-accessible porta-potty at both march launch point and at event.
-The event is outside, which we hope will help make it accessible to people with chemical sensitivities.

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Film Screening: Power Struggle 
Saturday, June 15th, 2019 at 118 Gallery (118 Elliot St, Brattleboro VT 05301). 7pm. This is a benefit fundraiser to launch a national grassroots film campaign. Tickets: $12 advance online / $15 at the door / No one will be turned away for lack of funds.  Purchase Tix: www.powerstrugglemovie.com/brattleboro-vt-screening
Power Struggle is a feature-length documentary chronicling a successful grassroots citizens’ effort to shut down the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor in Vermont, directed by long-time Pioneer Valley filmmaker Robbie Leppzer.  A timely, inspiring story of democracy in action; about whether citizens’ voices will be heard against big moneyed interests, and what people are doing locally right now to make a difference for a sustainable energy future. Original Music by John Sheldon. Filmmaker Robbie Leppzer will speak and moderate post-screening discussion panel talking about the current status and future of the Vermont Yankee decommissioning process, as well as the long-term public health hazards from high-level radioactive waste that will be stored indefinitely on the banks of the Connecticut River at the Vermont Yankee site. Panelists include: Chris Williams of the Citizen’s Awareness Network and board chair of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Clay Turnbull of the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution, and Derrik Jordan, member of the Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel. 
“POWER STRUGGLE is the remarkable story about how people power overcame corporate power and government cover-ups to finally shut down an aging and dangerous nuclear plant. We see how small town citizens were transformed into tenacious environmental activists who triumphed against the odds. POWER STRUGGLE is a hopeful story that reminds us that citizen activism is not just possible, it is essential to saving our endangered planet.” — David Goodman, best-selling author, journalist and radio host, THE VERMONT CONVERSATION

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Mother Up! Monthly Meet-Up 
Monday, June 17th, 2019 at KidsPLAYce (20 Elliot St., Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5:30pm-7:30pm. A vegetarian meal and childcare for ages 10 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. Note: This month's meet-up is on the 3rd Monday (instead of the 4th), and there will be no meet-up in July.

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A Night of Food Justice with Mark Bittman: For PVWC and FCWA
benefiting the Pioneer Valley Workers Center and the Food Chain Workers Alliance
Tuesday, June 18th, 2019 at Valley View Farm (16 Walpole Road, Haydenville, MA, 01039). 6pm-10:30pm. Tickets available HERE ($150 for Cocktails with Bittman & Dinner/Music at 5:30pm; $100 for Dinner & Music & talk with Bittman and PVWC at 6pm).
Enjoy a seasonally driven multi-course dinner at the beautiful Valley View Farm. Neftali Durran will lead a team of local chefs, who will prepare a menu with food from Sutter Meats, Crimson and Clover Farm, and Belly of the Beast. You will be serenaded by the infectious Rio Mira band stateside from Columbia and Ecuador with their socially conscious old school Afro-Caribbean marimba music! Monte Belmonte will lead an important conversation with Mark Bittman and local farm and restaurant worker leaders.
The Pioneer Valley Workers Center is an immigrant and worker-led organization that organizes for collective power and racial and economic justice. Our Worker Committees in Northampton and Springfield develop and lead grassroots campaigns for worker and immigrant rights. They are supported by PVWC’s innovative solidarity and interfaith rapid response networks of 2,500+ individuals and participants from over 30 congregations. When PVWC received the 2018 Food Justice Award from the Food Chain Workers Alliance and won a James Beard Leadership Award in May 2019, it was a victory for the thousands of us in the wide circles of PVWC. Thank you for being part of that circle. Together we believe another world is possible!
Mark Bittman is the author of 20 acclaimed books, including the How to Cook Everything series, the award-winning Food Matters, and The New York Times number-one bestseller, VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00. For more than two decades his popular and compelling stories appeared in the Times, where he was ultimately the lead food writer for the Sunday Magazine and became the country’s first food-focused Op-Ed columnist for a major news publication. Bittman has starred in four television series, including Showtime’s Emmy-winning Years of Living Dangerously. He has written for nearly every major newspaper in the United States and many magazines, and has spoken at dozens of universities and conferences; his 2007 TED talk has more than a million views. He was a distinguished fellow at the University of California (Berkeley) and a fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists; he is a member of the faculty of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Throughout his career Bittman has strived for the same goal: to make the food, in all its aspects, understandable.

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Public Forum on the Opioid Epidemic
sponsored by Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and the Brattleboro Fire Department
Thursday, June 20th, 2019 at the Brattleboro Central Fire Station (103 Elliot St, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 6pm-8pm. All are welcome. 
Join us for a community conversation about the effects of opioid use disorder in our community.
The Brattleboro Fire Department and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital will join panelists from Turning Point of Windham County, Groundworks Collaborative, Brattleboro Police Department, Project CARE, and the Brattleboro Retreat to discuss solutions to this health crisis that affects us all.

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Vermont Mad Pride 2019 in Brattleboro!
hosted by Vermont Psychiatric Survivors, Inc
Saturday, July 13th, 2019. March starting at Pliny Park (corner of Main Street and High Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) and ending at the Brattleboro Common (Park Place, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 12pm-4pm. Free t-shirt for the first 100 participants.
This year Vermont Mad Pride is in Brattleboro! Vermont Mad Pride is a march and celebration organized by psychiatric survivors, mental health consumers, mad people, and those the world has deemed “mentally ill.”  Mad Pride is about challenging discrimination, advocating for rights, affirming mad identities, remembering and participating in mad history, and having fun.  Our lives and contributions are valuable and need celebration!
Agenda:
12pm: Meet at Pliny Park
12:15pm-1pm: March to the Commons
1pm-4pm: Rally and speeches

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SUMMER CAMPS

Farm to Ballet Performance Camp for Kids at Retreat Farm
presented by Ballet Vermont and Retreat Farm
Monday, July 15th, 2019-Friday, July 19th, 2019 at Retreat Farm (45 Farmhouse Square, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 9am-3:30*pm. *Paid aftercare option of 3:30pm-4:30pm for an additional $50. Please go to www.balletvermont.org for performance tickets.
Your camper can dance on the big stage with Farm to Ballet! Campers who participate in this camp will perform the choreography they learn at camp as the pre-show to Farm to Ballet's Retreat Farm show. Camp week will include daily ballet class, farm and garden exploration, activities, and craft. Dancers will work on choreography and craft costumes in addition to other activities to prepare for the big Farm to Ballet performance. 

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UPRISE Youth Activism Camp (Ages 13-19)
Sunday, July 28th, 2019-Sunday, August 4th, 2019 in Marshfield, VT. For more information please go here: https://www.uprisecampvt.org.
We're inviting youth ages 13-19 to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont for one amazing week of teen empowerment, creativity, action, and friendship -- all while strategizing for our collective future. As mentors with a broad spectrum of skills, we are passionate about empowering teens as organizers, change makers, and allies in our rapidly changing world. 
The cost of the camp is $450 for the week, but please feel more than welcome to ask us about scholarships. Bring your hopes and fears for the future, your unique style and skills, your passion and ideas -- but most of all, bring yourself, just as you are -- and join us!
Youth interested in attending Uprise! are asked to go through a short application form process. The application will give us an idea of who’s interested in the camp and help our team make this camp accessible and awesome for everyone. There are financial aid questions at the end of the application. You can find information on the application process here.

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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  

Women Veterans Weekly Coffee and Tea Social
Thursday Mornings at Brattleboro Legion Post 5 Inc. (32 Linden Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 9am-10am.
All female veterans are invited to join in the Women Veterans group coffee held at the American Legion.  All women veterans are welcome. You do not need to be a Legion member.

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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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Youth 4 Change
Meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month from 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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Windham County NAACP Regular Meetings
Monthly community meetings are held on the third Thursday of every month at The Root Center for Social Justice (The Whetstone Studio for the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) on the First Floor from 6pm-7pm. Upcoming Meetings: 3/21/19; 4/18/19; 5/16/19. For more information please email [email protected]. All are welcome.
The meetings are open to anyone interested in racial justice. The Mission of the NAACP is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.

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ONGOING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING 

Indigo Radio
Sundays at 12pm on Brattleboro Community Radio 107.7FMTo 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, wonderful community, for your efforts this and every week. Your actions and words mean so much to our County; we look forward to seeing you at an event or meeting soon! 

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