Today is Saturday, November 15. November is Native American Heritage month, a time to celebrate the rich cultures and traditions, and histories of Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Sunday, November 23 is the Catholic Feast of Christ the King, a solemnity that honors Jesus Christ as the Lord of all creation.
Quote of the week: “How long are we to watch them die of thirst in the droughts?” Vanessa Nakate born November 15, 1996 – present; Ugandan climate justice activist.
Featured civil rights activist/abolitionist/pioneer: Vanessa Nakate born November 15, 1996 – present; Ugandan climate justice activist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Nakate
Attention; New Half Day ERG program: Below you will find a link to a 90 second video message from the CEO of a private company in the Rochester area introducing an ERG Exploring Racism Group special half-day seminar on Thursday, January 15. Please talk to and share with friends, colleagues and relatives requesting that they consider attendance. https://drive.google.com/file/d/11aGqFQKLakBFEkpdLWnMQUvlY0wTw5Cq/view?usp=sharing
To register, use this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd3og5iNzdUz9qoG2e45FRliVE9l1WfEMR70DVVbGTRJW41Mw/viewform?usp=header
EVENTS
1. The City of Rochester is sponsoring the Generational Wealth Summit , today, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM at University Prep Charter School. See below for details.
https://www.cityofrochester.gov/events/generational-wealth-summit-nov-15-2025
2. Sr. Barbara Staropoli, SSJ invites you to join weekly Saturday Vigils, where from 12 noon to 1pm, we stand together on various corners in Rochester and suburbs with our Black Lives Matter signs. See item #20 below for more information.
3. Register for Anti-Bias Training, November 18, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM in Lyons or November 20, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM in Geneseo. See link below for details and to register.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeRMKIkpwXsxPwNtw_zAlfY45SJ8FOCmWj0l6iyuDREpWPk9A/viewform
4. Global Entrepreneurship Week begins Tuesday, November 18 – Friday, November 21 at the Neighborhood Hub – 616 N.Goodman St., Rochester. See link below for details.
5. Concerned about our Democracy? Steve Martin suggests joining the Constitutional Crisis Call, Wednesday, November 19 from noon to 1:00 PM and every Wednesday in front of the Federal Building on State St., Rochester. See below for details.
6. Stuart Mitchell encourages all to support the RMM Harvesting Justice fundraiser scheduled for November 20, 2025. The following link will introduce you to the dinner, program and sponsorship opportunities.
https://ruralmigrantministry.org/harvesting-justice-dinner/
7. The Urban League of Rochester- Virtual Speaker Series next program will be Friday, December 5, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM featuring Dr. Candice Lucas and members of the ROC Community Table. Register at the link below.
8. Laurie Mahoney and Deni Mack share information on an upcoming Human Rights Conference to be held Sunday, December 14, from 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM at the Islamic Center of Rochester on Westfall Road. See link below for details.
NEWS, HISTORY & RESOURCES
9. The D&C published an article last Saturday that is important to share on the Levine Center to End Hate’s recent survey titled ‘BIAS FEARS RISE IN ROCHESTER’ . Survey respondents express fears of exclusion, harassment.
10. Just like the D&C article above we generally place the 5 – 7 articles that the D&C publishes each week that deal with Race, Poverty, Hate or Intolerance at the end of this section. We felt the 2 below and the 1 above need to be highlighted.
a. CHURCHES CHAMPION CHURCHES CHAMPION SOCIAL ISSUES SOCIAL ISSUES (Religious leaders rally for civil rights, reform).
b. Rockwell’s art has no place in anti-immigrant propaganda (an opinion piece by a child, grandchildren and great grandchildren of Norman Rockwell).
11. Drew Saur provides this astonishing piece from the Washington Post ‘U.S. WWII cemetery in the Netherlands removes displays about Black troops’.
12. Drew Saur also provides this piece from Wired ‘Google, Microsoft,and Meta Have Stopped Publishing Workforce Diversity Data’.
13. We repeat the article that George Yeadon shared last week ‘Closing the Racial Wealth Divide: A Plan to Boost Black Homeownership’.
14. From the Medium Daily Digest we share 3 pieces;
a. “How Racist Practices Limited Black Mobility During The Great Migration“ by Dr. Allison Wiltz:
b. “What They Erased From Your Textbooks Wasn’t a Mistake — It Was a Fucking Strategy“ by The Kye Effect:
c. “Why AI Hurting Black Communities is Textbook Case of Systemic Racism“ by Dr. Allison Wiltz:
15. We repeat that Melanie Russo has plugged ERG programs in the Greater Rochester Chamber’s new Employer Playbook: Your Future Talent Pipeline Edition. The Edition is a call to action for employers to engage with our region’s youth in meaningful ways. It offers practical, ready-to-use ideas for getting involved, from one-day volunteer opportunities to long-term partnerships that create exposure and opportunity for our future workforce.
16. Here is this week’s Urban League of Rochester – The Interrupter Newsletter
The Interrupter Newsletter – November 13, 2025
17. We share two article from this week’s The Minority Reporter;
a. $13 Million Investment Will Bring New Affordable Homes to Rochester’s Upper Falls Neighborhood
b. Rochester Jamaican Organization Hosts “Jammin’ for Jamaica” Fundraiser to Support Hurricane Relief Efforts in Jamaica
18. Here is one article from This week’s Beacon:
At a public safety briefing, the mayor pointed to a drop in gun violence—but said challenges remain, including illegal guns.
19. There are 3 articles that deal with Race, Poverty, Hate or Intolerance found in D&C this past week.
a. Catholic-owned land transferred to Ojibwe Catholic-owned land transferred to Ojibwe (beginning of atonement for past wrongs).
b. Pope: U.S. should reject on anti-immigration policies.
c. CFPB proposes curbing anti-discrimination rules CFPB proposes curbing anti-discrimination rules
OPPORTUNITIES: We share opportunities to get involved in addressing some of the communities challenges. Please share any opportunities for employment, assistance, grants, etc. that you are aware of with the community by sending them to “tcmitch1951@gmail.com”.
20. Elders and Allies connected to Free The People ROC. We are a social justice group of seasoned black and white activists who came together after the death of Daniel Prude five years ago. We engage in various projects that connect to issues of racism in Rochester. One of those projects is our Saturday Vigils, where from 12 noon to 1pm, we stand together on various corners in Rochester and suburbs with our Black Lives Matter signs. It is a simple action but we are made aware each week from the responses we get, both positive and negative, that the message is an important reminder to those who drive by. We invite anyone who would like to jon us to contact me for information and for a sign. Contact Sister Barbara Staropoli for the next Saturday Vigil at bstaropolissj@gmail.com
21. The Urban League of Rochester’s Scholarship Program is open. It is not too early to consider and apply. See below for information and application.
https://www.urbanleagueroc.org/scholarships
22. The Rochester Area Community Foundations Scholarship Program will open December 1. Check out the link below for Rochester Area Scholarships and Award Resources – Rochester Area Community Foundation
https://www.racf.org/scholarships/search-for-scholarships/
SUPPORT BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES:
23. 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)
24. Need a Multimedia Production Studio for your video or audio productions? Check out EXP Studio.
https://expstudio.org
EXP Studio produced the ERG promotional video for our new Exploring Racism Half Day Session. Check it out below:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11aGqFQKLakBFEkpdLWnMQUvlY0wTw5Cq/view?usp=sharing
If you have an item to include in the week’s sharing we need to have it by noon on Friday.
Thank you!