Today is Saturday, June 1. June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month (LGBT Pride Month) celebrated annually in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots, and works to achieve equal justice and equal opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) Americans. June 7 – Feast of the Sacred Heart. This Roman Catholic feast day memorializes Jesus’ love for all humans.
Quote of the Week: “I can say truly that never in my whole life have I wished I were a white man; but I confess that there were times, long ago, when it seemed difficult to be a Negro in a white world. In the South, I had been carefully taught my “place,” and I did not suppose that in the North my place would be, in the beginning, less restricted than at home; but I had somehow hoped that I would not so frequently be reminded of it.“ Roland Hayes, June 3, 187 – December 31, 1976; Roland Hayes, June 3, 187 – December 31, 1976; Internationally acclaimed American tenor and composer.
Featured Civil Rights Activist/Abolitionist/Pioneer for this week: Roland Hayes, June 3, 187 – December 31, 1976; Internationally acclaimed American tenor and composer.
Roland Hayes Biography
EVENTS:
1. Check out the Urban League’s 2024 Homecoming events, May 31 – June 2, 2024
Homecoming Events — Urban League of Rochester (urbanleagueroc.org)
2. Attached is a flyer for the Urban League of Rochester’s next monthly Speaker Series session on June 7th from 1-2 pm. Each month, featured speakers present on various advocacy topics. Our next speaker is Dr. Paula Cupertino, Associate Director of Community Outreach, Engagement and Disparities at Wilmot Cancer Institute. Dr. Cupertino will be discussing cancer health disparities and the importance of using community-driven research methods to improve recruitment into clinical trials from across the region, especially from diverse communities. Click here to register!
3. Melissa Mueller-Douglas shares that Saturday, June 8, 4-5pm is the Global Wellness Day Chocolate Mindfulness Retreat at Frequency Wellness Space. https://www.linkedin.com/events/chocolatemindfulnessretreat-glo7188864520348413952/
More information on the MYRetreat business can be found in the SUPPORT BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES section.
4. The Levine Center to End Hate is holding ‘Brave Spaces 2024’ the 4th Annual Conference to End Hate on Tuesday, June 11 from 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM at the Memorial Art Gallery. Please see the link below for further information and to register.
BRAVE SPACES 2024 | Levine Center (endhateroc.org)
5. Bill Wynne shares information on a movie event at The Little Theatre on Thursday, June 13 sponsored by the Elder Justice Committee titled ‘Fire Through Dry Grass” the documentary with a discussion with the filmmakers. See below for details.
6. The City of Rochester and MLK Jr. Commission announces the 2024 Juneteenth celebration. See link below.
https://www.rochesterfirst.com/around-town/rochester-2024-juneteenth-festival-plans-announced/
7. George Yeadon shares that Pathstone Presents announces it’s Provok!ng Thought program ‘ACTION AND ACCOUNTABILITY: UNPACKING AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING’ to be held on June 20, 1:00 – 3:30 PM at 440 East Ave. See link below for
8. Bill Wynne also provides information on a retreat ‘The God of us all: Praying with Black Spirituality’ on June 24-July 3 at the Loyola University Retreat & Ecology Campus in Woodstock, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. See below for details and to register.
9. Friday, June 28th at 7:00 PM and Sunday, June 30th at 2:00 PM the Garth Fagan Dance will collaborate with the Finger Lakes Opera for a second time in the world premiere of ‘Two Corners’, featuring original choreography by GFD Artistic Director, PJ Pennewell, and performances by two GFD dancers. See below for more information and for tickets.
10. His Branches, operates as a community health center with clinics in the 19th Ward and Beechwood communities within the City of Rochester, dedicated to the pursuit health and economic equity for all people and the good of our neighborhoods is holding a fund raising golf tournament on July 22. See link below for more information.
https://www.hisbranches.org/golf
11. Save the date, 9/18/2024 for the Urban League – Rochester’s (UL-R) 5th Annual ‘Interrupt Racism’ Summit. This year’s theme is ‘Honoring Whence We Came”. This year’s Keynote Speaker is Ms. Cheryl Brown Henderson, daughter of the late Rev. Oliver Brown, lead plaintiff in the Brown vs. Board of Education court case that led to the desegregation of schools.
NEWS, HISTORY & RESOURCES:
12. Jennifer Leonard shares this piece from the NY Times; A Furious, Forgotten Slave Narrative Resurfaces After Nearly 170 Years – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
13. ERG friend and advisor, Grequan Carter has published a new book, “The F Words: Further Fathering Feeling Fatherless”. Creative Intelligence of Black Consciousness. A Poetic Philosophical Practical Guide to Self Improvement, Community Impact & Cosmic Alignment.
The book has intwined poetry with prose and was written as a guide to all, especially Black men but intentionally as a sharing of life lessons and his philosophy with his children born and to be born as they come of age.
You can purchase the book at: www.grequancarter.com
14. We repeat the highlight some of the great work of some ERG Alums. Gary Curwin, Gregg Lederman, Jeff Wynn and others have made it possible for some high school students to get beyond the borders of Rochester for new experiences. Read about the trip and the organization “Go Beyond Rochester” below.
15. Laurie Mahoney shares a report by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), ‘Decades of Disinvestment: Historic Redlining and Mortgage Lending Since 1981’. Find information below.
16. Find Bill Wynne’s May Update below.
17. There are 6 articles that deal with Race, Poverty, Hate or Intolerance found in D&C over the past week.
a. Bull’s Head revitalization plan spurs wave of public feedback (some fear the project will drive them from the neighborhood).
b. Change since Floyd’s death slow to come (major police reform is still a promise).
c. Backlash to police reform in full swing (not only has there not been major police reform, there has been backlash to reform).
d. KeyBank, Habitat partner to expand housing (the promise of affordable housing in Rochester).
e. REDEFINING HISTORY (National landmarks begin telling more complete stories).
f. MLB records now reflect Gibson’s excellence (Negro league and Major League Baseball records now are combined, finally intergrated).
OPPORTUNITIES: Please share any opportunities for employment, assistance, grants, etc. that you are aware of with the community by sending them to “tcmitch1951@gmail.com”.
18. Foodlink is in need of volunteers on Mondays in June. See dates below to sign up.
19. Do you know an adult that could use a mentor or interested in being a mentor. The Action for a Better Community has a program you should be aware of, see below.
20. The Winters Group is providing grant opportunities Winters envisions a world that has fully actualized access, equity, inclusion, and justice for all people. If you are doing this work, they want to help. June 3 is the deadline to apply.
Live Inclusively® – The Winters Group
SUPPORT BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES:
21. Support the Black Community by supporting their businesses. Please share Black businesses you support and value. A good resource is “Black Owned in Rochester”
Black Owned Businesses Rochester NY Black-Owned In Rochester (blackownedinrochester.com)
22. Looking for a program to immerse your employees in experiential wellness practices that decrease stress to increase productivity and improve retention? Check out MYRetreat, a wellness app that pairs chocolate with mindfulness to dramatically improve habit formation. Also, see the business case for MYRetreat below that.
https://exploringracism.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/MYRetreat-wellness-app.docx
https://exploringracism.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Business-Case-for-MyRetreat.pdf
If you have an item to include in the week’s sharing we need to have it by noon on Friday.
Thank you!