Today is Saturday, June 8. 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. Sunday, June 9 is Race Unity Day: A holiday in the Baha’i faith that promotes racial harmony and understanding. Monday, June 10 is the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Sahib: A day observed by Sikhs to celebrate the first martyr in their faith. Tuesday, June 11 – Thursday, June 13 is the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, these days Jews mark the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. Friday, June 14 through is June 19 is the Hajj: Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all.
Quote of the Week: “We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.”; Marian Wright Edelman, June 6, 1939 – present; American attorney.
Featured Civil Rights Activist/Abolitionist/Pioneer for this week: Marian Wright Edelman, June 6, 1939 – present, American attorney.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marian-Wright-Edelman
EVENTS:
1. Melissa Mueller-Douglas shares that today, Saturday, June 8, 4-5pm is the Global Wellness Day Chocolate Mindfulness Retreat at Frequency Wellness Space. https://www.linkedin.com/events/chocolatemindfulnessretreat-glo7188864520348413952/
The next retreat date (June 21, 2024) and more information on the MYRetreat business can be found in the SUPPORT BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES section.
2. 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)
3. 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.
4. 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/
5. 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
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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
9. Mark your calendars for the 5th Annual Black Culture Festival on July 27th and 28th, 2024, both days from 12 p.m. – 8 p.m. at Parcel 5, situated at 285 E. Main Street, Rochester, NY 14604. Organizers stated the festival celebrates Black culture and serves as a platform to uplift and support Black businesses and artists. This year’s theme, “Black Is Beauty,” aims to shine a light on the beauty and diversity within the Black community. See link below for more information.
Celebrate The Black Culture Festival (minorityreporter.net)
10. 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:
11. 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
12. Laurie Mahoney and Ruhi Maker share the link to the newly redesigned ACT Rochester website. The link below is to website’s page on Rent Burdened Households. It has lots of housing data, including rent burden by town. You can access the rest of ACT Rochester’s site from this link.
https://www.actrochester.org/rent-burdened-households
13. Jamie Cornehlsen shares an article from 1991 that is as appropriate today as is was when written by by Thich Nhat Hahn. We all contribute to violence, intentionally or unitentionally.
We Are the Beaters; We Are the Beaten | Plum Village
14. We include two (2) stories from this week’s edition of the Beacon:
a.
b
15. Find RMAPI’s (Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative) latest news below.
16. Here is the Urban League of Rochester’s latest Interrupter newsletter:
https://mailchi.mp/ulr/micro-advantage-loan-program-13752064?e=25818c1f26
17. There are 3 articles that deal with Race, Poverty, Hate or Intolerance found in D&C over the past week.
a. Florida still teaches ‘benefits’ of slavery (What is the motivation? What is the damage to future generations? ).
b. Black workers in Georgia sue General Mills (Is the management a ‘Good Ole Boys’ network as alleged?)
c. Mayor: Housing panel to address homeownership (Panel has been in place for 2 1/2 years).
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 a regular basis. The shifts that are available are found below.
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.
SUPPORT BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES:
20. 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)
21. 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
Here’s the next Candlelight Chocolate Mindfulness Retreat is June 21st 7:30pm – 8:30pm ET at Frequency Wellness Space (34 Elton St. Rocheter) https://www.linkedin.com/events/candlelightchocolatemindfulness7188870486943059968/
If you have an item to include in the week’s sharing we need to have it by noon on Friday.
Thank you!