Weekly Update 7-8-18
“Under adversity, under oppression, the words begin to fail, the easy words begin to fail. In order to convey things accurately, the human being is almost forced to find the most precise words possible, which is a precondition for literature.”
Rita Frances Dove
(An American poet and essayist from 1993 to 1995, where she served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the U.S. Library of Congress)
HAPPENING TODAY, SUNDAY, JULY 8th, 2018
Share the Harvest
sponsored by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, July 8th, 2018 at the Turning Point Garden (the corner of Elm Street and Frost Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 11am-1pm. Please bring your own bags.
Edible Brattleboro will launch its Share the Harvest stand on Sunday, July 8th from 11am-1pm in our garden at Turning Point, on the corner of Elm and Frost Street (diagonally across from New England Youth Theatre). Please bring your own bags. All produce is free thanks to the generosity of local gardeners and farmers. We welcome donations from your garden.
______
Candidate for Governor Meet and Greet
hosted by The Putney Huddle
Sunday, July 8th, 2018 at the Putney Public Library ( 55 Main St, Putney, VT 05346). 1:30pm-3:30pm. Like to show up early? Join us for the early bird Love Brigade postcard action at 3:15pm.
The Putney Huddle invites you to meet with candidates for Vermont governor, Christine Hallquist and Brenda Siegel. Both candidates will speak and take questions. We will also hear from VT State Senator candidate Wayne Vernon-Estey and Brattleboro Indivisible organizer Julia Ronconi. Join us!
______
HAPPENING THIS WEEK, MONDAY, JULY 9th, 2018-SUNDAY, JULY 15th, 2018
Vermont Healthy Soils Coalition Presentation/Potluck/Meeting
Tuesday, July 10th, 2018 at the Rockingham Public Library (65 Westminster St, Bellows Falls, VT 05101). 12pm-4pm.
Vermont Healthy Soils Coalition will hold a free public meeting and presentation at the Rockingham Public Library this Tuesday, July 10, from 12-4pm. Educational program will be from 1-2pm. Join us for a stimulating dialog about the importance of healthy soils for our climate and our health.
______
Brattleboro Democracy Forum: "Blame Trump"?
Wednesday, July 11th, 2018 at the River Garden (157 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 12pm-1pm.
Join us for the presentation and discussion with:
-Nick Biddle, PhD: Nick is a retired professor of history and co-owner of Artrageus1 in Brattleboro.
-Tim Kipp: Tim taught US history, political science, and law for 39 years. He has been a political activist since the 1960s.
WE CELEBRATE DEMOCRACY/CIVIL RIGHTS FOR ALL. Positive nonviolent public action for democracy and equal civil rights for all people.
To Donate: WCD/CRFA, POB 6231, Brattleboro VT 05302.
______
Protest Vigil at TD Bank
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions
Friday, July 13th, 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.
______
The Bi-Weekly Solidarity Vigil
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions
Friday, July 13th, 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.
______
Green Mountain Gala
hosted by Defend Our Future and the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center
Saturday, July 14th, 2018 at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center (10 Vernon Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 7pm-10pm.
For tickets: www.membership.onlineaction.org
Guest Speakers: VT Lt. Governor David Zuckerman and VT State Rep. Becca Balint
Join Defend Our Future and special guest speakers for a night of community celebration and fun at our first ever Southern Vermont Fundraising Gala!
With a ticket, gala-goers can look forward to a night of live music, catered treats, and a photo booth! There will be a cash bar with beer and wine from Windham Wines available.
This fundraiser will be the first of its kind for Defend Our Future, bringing together local environmentalists and the Vermont community of all stripes to support the next generation of climate leadership.
All proceeds from the event will be used to expand and deepen the campus organizing work that Defend students and staff are able to do in their communities. Through hosting educational events, meeting with elected leaders, and organizing voter registration and education drives, our teams are helping to develop environmental activists across the country and you can help!
Tickets come in three levels: silver, gold and platinum. In addition to admission, gold and platinum sponsors will receive a special gift. Tickets can be purchased on the Defend Our Future website and above.
All gifts to Defend Our Future are tax-deductible.
______
UPCOMING EVENTS
Art, Decolonization & Action for Puerto Rico
Wednesday, July 25th, 2018 at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center (10 Vernon Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 7:30pm. Doors open at 7pm. Light refreshments provided. ADMISSION: Free. Free off-site childcare provided; ASL interpretation available.
In connection with the exhibit David Rios Ferreira: And I Hear Your Words That I Made Up, Rios Ferreira and members of The Root Social Justice Center discuss art as a vehicle for activism, the challenging narratives of colonization, and its persistence in current social and political structures.
David Rios Ferreira (b. 1982, Bronx, NY) has exhibited in galleries and museums in the US and abroad, including CoCA (Seattle, WA), Nemeth Art Center (Park Rapids, MN) and Kunstraum Richard Sorge Gallery (Berlin, Germany). He has held residencies at the Lower East Side Printshop (New York, NY), Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts (New York, NY), and The Center for Book Arts (New York, NY). Awards include a New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship, the Innovative Cultural Advocacy Fellowship from the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, a National Association of Latino Arts & Culture Fund for the Arts grant and the ArtSlant Grand Prize. Rios Ferreira lives and works in New York and Jersey City. He holds a BFA from The Cooper Union.
The Root Social Justice Center provides a physically and financially accessible space in Southern Vermont for social justice groups to meet, and is a hub for racial justice organizing. The Root prioritizes People of Color leadership and shifting resources to People of Color-led racial justice work. The Root operates collectively to sustain a space that strives to be free of oppression, harm, and injustice. Collective members Ezlerh Oreste, Vanessa Santana, and Angela Berkfield will share their personal experiences with the impacts of colonization and they will bring a call to action.
______
FUTURE EVENTS
Healing Our Collective Trauma and Reconnecting with Our Spiritual Source &
Healing Our Divisions and Biases and Unifying Our Movements: Two Workshops by Sherri Mitchell, an Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice Activist
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions
Saturday, October 27th, 2018 and Sunday, October 28th, 2018 on the Winston Prouty Campus (209 Austine Drive, Brattleboro, VT) in Croker Hall on the 4th Floor (with elevator access). 9am-5pm, both days.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS:
Healing Our Collective Trauma and Reconnecting with Our Spiritual Source:
This one-day workshop will take participants on a journey into Native American mythology and cosmology, as a means of healing our collective wounds and reconnecting with spiritual source. We have all been impacted by histories of violence. The oppressed, the oppressor, and the witness alike bear the wounds of our collective past. Together, we will look at the psychic and spiritual wounds that we all share and learn how we can untangle their hold on our hearts and minds. Participants will be asked to look at the history that led to this traumatization and explore how it continues to impact their lives. We will also learn how to hold sacred space for one another while our trauma is present. In this process, we will learn that there is a safe space for us to occupy together, whole and intact. Then, we can begin the process of healing our divisions, so that we can go back and claim a new future for all living beings.
Healing Our Divisions and Biases and Unifying Our Movements:
This one-day workshop provides participants with an opportunity to look at the divisions and biases, including hidden biases, that have been built into our societies and ideologies. We will look at the divisions created by our shared history, the biases informed by that history, and the ways that they prevent us from joining our movements. We will learn how to find interest convergence points that enable us to work with one another across these divisions, and how to manage the intersectionality of the emerging movement of movements.
-We will only accommodate the first 50 people that register, with a wait list beyond.
The minimum participants are 20; we will cancel if we get less than this, and reimburse registrants accordingly.
-People are encouraged to bring a bag lunch and snacks for themselves, or to share
-Registration: $125.00
-REFUND POLICY FOR PARTICIPANT CANCELLATION: People can get a refund of the full price if they cancel 10 days prior to the event; after that they can get 50% up to 5 days before the event. If they fail to cancel before that time they will get a 25% refund up to 48 hours before the event and no refund within 48 hours.
Write & Mail Check to
Post Oil Solutions, P. O. Box 431
Townshend, VT 05353
Note “Sherri Mitchell” in Memo line and please include e-mail address and phone number.
______
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.
______
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.
______
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.
______
Youth 4 Change
Meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month from 5:30pm-8pm.
Upcoming: Aug 6th, Aug 20th
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!
______
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
___
Showing 1 reaction