Today is Saturday June 24. Today is also the Litha, a Pagan and Wiccan festival that starts on the Summer sostice and celebrates midsummer. Monday, the Hajj begins, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims must take once in their lives. Tuesday, Eid al-Adha begins at evening. Eid al-Adha is the Islamic faith holiday that is to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim’s devotion to Allah and his readiness to sacrifice his son, Ismail.. The Hajj ends the evening of Saturday, July 1.
Quote of the Week:
“Poverty is the parent of crime and revolution. Poverty will either make a person take what they don’t have from someone who might have a little more than they do or it will make a person rebel against the current of the system, the present state of their life, and …” Aristotle, 384 BC – 322 BC, Greek Philosopher and scientist.
Who was Aristotle? See information below.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aristotle
Events:
Here is what is going on in the Rochester area:
1. The Frederick Douglas Family Initiative annouse Douglas Week 2023
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| #DouglassWeek | Save The Date July 10-16, 2023We hope you will mark your calendars for July 10-16, 2023, and plan to join us for our third annual #DouglassWeek! Whether you attend in person in Rochester, NY, or virtually from around the globe, you’ll experience seven days of talks, walks, performances and other events commemorating Frederick Douglass and other changemakers whose legacies continue to influence our efforts to create a more just world. |
2. John Ramerman suggests that we place the Urban League’s annual Interrupt Racism Symposium on our calendar for September 19 & 20, 2023. See below:
NEWS, HISTORY & RESOURCES:
3. Gary Curwin shares a “must view” video produced by Tom Hanks that explains why Reconstruction ended and the former enslaved returned to a state of oppression in the South.
4. George Yeadon shares a information closely related to the provious subject. Field Order #15 (link below) may be relevant to discussions about reparations for enslavement and the systemic failure after the Civil War.
We all know that Vice President Andrew Johnson, who assumed the Presidency upon Lincoln’s assassination on April 15, 1865, rejected the field order. Despite Johnson’s rejection, however, its content was so compelling that it’s even relevant—and captivating today. Perhaps it should be required reading for all persons trying understand how the goals for emancipation failed to honestly discuss reparations.
http://www.freedmen.umd.edu/sfo15.htm
5. With the expected affirmative action decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court to be issued any day now we provide information from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. The Conference is organizing a rally outside of the Supreme Court on decision day and will be distributing resources/updates to the civil rights community: sign up here for updates.
6. Bill Wynne forwarded this item from FTP Elders-Allies “Activists protest Confederate monuments with virtual Black history memorials” from the Southern Poverty Law Center.
When Juneteenth revelers walk through the county courthouse plaza in Florence, Alabama, this year, they will be able, for the first time, to see something other than the 20-foot-tall Confederate monument that has dominated the public square since the height of Jim Crow.
The marble statue dedicated in 1903 as an ode to white supremacy will still be there, impervious to years of efforts by local activists first to contextualize it, then to have it removed. But in an act that is part protest, part education, anyone will be able to hold their cellphone up to the statue and, by activating a cutting-edge augmented reality app, see instead a monument come to life of one of several figures essential to the Black historical experience.
The experience will be unveiled in Florence on June 17 as part of Juneteenth celebrations organized by Project Say Something, a social justice nonprofit founded in the town in 2014. It is a partnership between the organization, which has built a track record of shaping policy statewide on issues from the right to protest to the rights of child care providers, and the New York-based tech nonprofit Kinfolk.…”Activists protest Confederate monuments with virtual Black history memorials” | Southern Poverty Law Center, 6/16/23
7. We repeat a sharing from last week, this “must view” short film by the Anti-Racism Curriculum Project titled “Home: Access Denied”. This film is about the history and legacy of residential segregation in Greater Rochester and the ways ordinary people are participating in civic action to create a more welcoming, just, and inclusive community. Thank you, Bill and Stuart for sharing.
https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/eZkLCOY9ZxCAvrv2UEhvXi?domain=resistancemapping.org
8. Here are 7 of articles that deal with Race, Hate or Intolerance found in this past week’s D&C. We list in order of appearance:
a. Poll: Wide agreement on equality, less on solutions (More than 9 of 10 Americans say all people deserve an equal opportunity to succeed, no matter their race or ethnicity. So what’s the problem?)
https://rochesterdemocrat-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=06facd740_134abfe
b. Germany to give $1.4B to Holocaust survivors (Germany provides additional compensation to the people it wronged. Why are reparations such an issue for the U.S.?)
https://rochesterdemocrat-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=11fd6034a_134abfe
c. What ‘woke’ really means (It is not the same as what many Republicans mean)
https://rochesterdemocrat-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=2a0dcf7d0_134abfe
d. Ruling may affect flagship universities (48% of State of Georgia’s annual H.S. graduates are Black but only 2% attend the University of Georgia in Athens. That does not call for affirmative action?)
https://rochesterdemocrat-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=1afd08d0c_134abff
e. Juneteenth leader’s remains lost; cemetery sued (How would you feel if your loved one was not found buried in their plot?)
https://rochesterdemocrat-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=04c882290_134abff
f. Jewish students stand up, push back against campus antisemitism (White Supremacism targets Jews as well as Blacks. It is alarming what is happening on our college campuses.)
https://rochesterdemocrat-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=05f362244_134ac00
g. Eviction filings soaring after lull in pandemic (Stable housing is one of the most important thing to health and well being. With rising rents, gentrification and income instablity the number of evictions climb)
https://rochesterdemocrat-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=1cb752f4f_134ac01
OPPORTUNITIES:
9. Please share any opportunities for employment, assistance, grants, etc. that you are aware of with the community by sending them to “tcmitch1951@gmail.com”.
SUPPORT BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES:
10. 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)
a. Looking for a dentist? Check out Dr. C.M. Gordon Family Dentistry.
.:: Dr. C.M. Gordon • Family Dentistry ::. (cmgordondds.com)
That is all for this week!
If you have an item to include in the week’s sharing we need to have it by noon Friday.