Today is Saturday, November 9. November is American Indian Heritage month, which celebrates and honors the history and culture of Native Americans and Indigenous people in the United States. Saturday, November 9 – Sunday, November 10 marks, Kristallnacht, also known as the Night of the Broken Glass, commemorates the 1938 pogrom against Jews throughout Germany and Vienna. Monday, November 11th is Veterans Day the day that honors military veterans and the U.S. Armed Services. Wednesday, November 13th – Tuesday, November 19th is Transgender Awareness Week. Friday, November 15 Guru Nanak Devji’s Birthday (Guru Nanak Jayanti), A very important holiday in the Sikh faith as Guru Nanak Dev’s was the First Guru of the Sikhs and the Founder of Sikhism. He was born in mid-November; the holiday is celebrated according to the lunar date.
Quote of the Week: “Life is too short to argue about time.” British poet, fiction writer & playwright; Jackie Kay born November 9, 1961.
Featured Civil Rights Activist/Abolitionist/Pioneer for this week:
British poet, fiction writer & playwright; Jackie Kay born November 9, 1961 examine issues of race and ethnicity, family, gender, and cultural belonging and exclusion.
EVENTS
1. ERG Alumni and Participants please open the link directly below. The Exploring Racism Group program is for individual work on our own bias, prejudice and contribution to racism. The Interrupt Racism program is for organization teams to work to enhance policies, practices, and cultures to create a more equitable work environment where all employees can thrive. Please consider for your organization.
INTERRUPT RACISM — Urban League of Rochester (urbanleagueroc.org)
2. The Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester is presenting an event on Tuesday, November 12 at 7:30 PM to learn with Dr. Noam Weissman, Executive Vice President of OpenDor Media, who will provide clarity and nuance on topics that are often weaponized by anti-Israel groups. See below for details and to register.
3. Lisle Coleman urges attendance at the Thursday, November 14th, 6:00 PM, Rochester City Council for the ‘Speak to Council’ session to urge for the passage of the tenant Good Cause Eviction Protections law. See below for details.
4. Want to improve your public speaking? Dr. Frederick Jefferson shares information on Frederick Douglas Toastmasters club that meets the 2nd Thursday (next November 14) and 4th Thursday of each month at Rochester’s City Hall. Check it out below.
5. The Rochester Intergenerational Choir Day is taking place November 16, 9:30 am – 4:00 pm at the Hochstein School, 50 N. Plymouth Avenue, Rochester, NY.
Maryellen Giese shares “Through this Community SINGING EVENT, we hope to bring together many Ensembles of all ages from area Churches, Schools and Community Choirs, as well as individuals who simply like to sing. They will learn to improvise American Negro Spirituals with an expert scholar. They’ll also work on 2 new DEI songs with the composers of those songs. We’ll put on a short informal performance at the end of our day. Each choir will leave prepared and ready to perform this repertoire in their home venues.” See link below to sign up for the program.
6. NEW: Action for a Better Community (ABC) will hold it’s 2025 Signature Conference on January 9th & 16th (virtual both days) and January 23rd, In-person Awards Breakfast. ABC is celebrating 60 years of “Empowering Communities and Inspiring Change”. Below are two files wih information on the program and presentations as well as sponsorship opportunities.
7. George Yeadon shares that registration is now open for RIT’s Expressions of King’s Legacy featuring Deborah Archer to be held on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 from 12:00 – 2:00 PM. See flyer below.
NEWS, HISTORY & RESOURCES:
8. If this past week’s election result upset you below are 3 messages of hope;
a. Dr. Frederick Jefferson shares his message with all;
b. Drew Saur passed on this message from Erin Thompson of the Gandi Institute for Non-Violence
The day after. Where do we go from here?
c. Frank Staropoli provides a lesson learned from People of Color in 2016;
9. Drew Saur shares this report that demonstrated AI bias to gender and race for identical resumes.
10. Gary Curwin shares this news article about a reformed convict that and saved other lives. All lives have value.
North Texas man who spent 20 years in prison saves 2 lives – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
11. Jamie Cornehlsen shares this story from Reveal about one of many incidence of the Jim Crow era.
12. Find this article posted in the Beacon this week, ‘Rochester Launches Initiative to Address Financial Exclusion’.
13. Here is the Urban League of Rochester’s latest newsletter. Please check on many important events contained in this newsletter.
https://mailchi.mp/ulr/micro-advantage-loan-program-13857751?e=25818c1f26
14. Here is the latest from The Pink Elephant Newsletter, by Janice Gassam Asare, PhD., ‘3 Ways To Manage A Divided Workplace Post-Election’.
(7) 3 Ways To Manage A Divided Workplace Post-Election | LinkedIn
15. There are 4 articles that deal with Race, Poverty, Hate or Intolerance found in D&C over the past week.
a. Why is DEI in retreat? (Opinion piece; is it the wrong initiative or poor execution?).
b. 2 Ohio officers indicted in Black man’s death (another case of excessive force).
c. Black Americans express fear, resolve (although some supported the President-Elect).
d. Racist texts are sent to Black students (are racists embolden by election results?).
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”.
16. Interested in scholarships for next year’s college expenses? Check out the Scholarships that the Urban League of Rochester organizes. Applications open November 1st.
Scholarships — Urban League of Rochester (urbanleagueroc.org)
17. The Rochester Area Community Foundation (RACF) Scholarship program portal will open on December 1, 2024.
Rochester Area Scholarships and Award Resources – Rochester Area Community Foundation (racf.org)
SUPPORT BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES:
18. 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)
19. Looking for a new place to shop for jewelry? Check out Beads & Bangles. See below.
If you have an item to include in the week’s sharing we need to have it by noon on Friday.
Thank you!