Today is Saturday June 10. Tomorrow, Sunday is Race Unity Day, a holiday in the Baha’i faith that promotes racial harmony and understanding. Monday is Loving Day. This day is the anniversary of the court decision that legalizes interracial marriage. Wednesday is Flag Day. Friday is the Feast of the Sacred Heart. A Roman Catholic feast day commemorating Jesus’ heart and his love for all humanity. Rochester, NY celebrates Juneteenth on Saturday, June 17. There are many activities celebrating Juneteenth (see below in Events).
Quote of the Week:
“Jails and prisons are designed to break human beings, to convert the population into specimens in a zoo – obedient to our keepers, but dangerous to each other…”; Angela Davis, January 26, 1979 – Present; American political activist, scholar and author.
Who was Angela Davis? See information below.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Angela-Davis
Events:
Here is what is going on in the Rochester area:
1. The National Coalition Building Institute – Rochester announces a new virtual program “America’s Future: Yours…Mine…Ours?, Friday, June 16. See below for more information.
Spring Greetings & Important Seminar Information (mailchi.mp)
2. Juneteenth in Rochester is celebrated on Saturday, June 17th and Monday, June 19th (the official date).
a. The City of Rochester’s Juneteenth Festival begins on Saturday, June 17th with a parade starting 10:00 AM at Chestnut and Court Street and ends at the Strong National Museum of Play.
b. The Strong National Museum of Play offers free admission on Saturday, June 17th.
c. There will be a festival following the parade at the MLK Jr. Memorial Park following the parade featuring Hi[-hop recording artice Lil’ Mo and the festival will highlight black businesses and other activities.
d. Juneteenth at the Rochester Museum & Science Center is celebrated on Saturday, June 17th:
e. Bill Wynne shares information on two Juneteenth events at Genesee Valley Park (see below) on Monday, June 19th.
Red Green Yellow Color Block Greetings/Slogans Poster (windows.net)
3. George Yeadon shares information on a file on Wednesday, June 21st, 6:30 PM at the Little Theatre, “African Redemption: The Life and Legacy of Marcus Garvey”.
NEWS, HISTORY & RESOURCES:
4. Melanie shares information on a free book download just released, A Kids Book About Juneteenth. These books are written in simple terms so while their great conversation starters for kids, they are great for adults too! The download also has an activity page and a discussion guide to enhance learning.
5. An article shared by Gary Curwin points out any policy can be protested by one group, ideology or other.
6. Bill Wynne shares a video “Whatever Happened to Matthew 25” a presentation and discussion that asks why Roman Catholic and other Christian based faiths often ignore the “Where are the least of these” that Matthew describes in his gospel.
(461) Whatever Happened to Matthew 25? – YouTube
7.One article is provided below from this week’s Beacon and we repeat their request for supporting their endowment;
a. The goal of the Beacon Community News Fund campaign, which runs June 1-16, is to raise funds to hire a full-time reporter—the first step in building a small core staff of professional journalists.https://rochesterbeacon.com/2023/05/25/beacon-to-launch-endowment-drive/
b. Rochester City Council approves housing law changes.
8. We are sharing just 1 item from the latest edition of the CNN Newsletter Race Deconstructed this week (there are 2 more, go to https://www.cnn.com/specials/race-deconstructed):
a. Supreme Court’s conservative majority to decide direction of law on race, other issues
https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/05/politics/supreme-court-conservative-liberal-june-cases/index.html
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. ‘ THERE AREN’T PLACES TO TURN TO’ (an article that describes the humanity and needs of the LGBTQ+ that we all share, or should)
https://rochesterdemocrat-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=0cd860724_134abf0
b PRESSURES OF INEQUITY (an article that highlights the health and healthcare challenges of the Black community)
https://rochesterdemocrat-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=04edd8fc1_134abf0
c. REPUBLICANS SEE OPENING WITH NONWHITE VOTERS (an opinion piece that points out that non-white voters do not all think and act as a voting block).
https://rochesterdemocrat-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=01442fdd3_134abf0
d. Kids face racism before they even start school (the mental health issues of Black children is shown to be the result of discrimnation faced earlier in their lives).
https://rochesterdemocrat-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=159c50a2f_134abf1
e. Moms cope with separation in prison (an article that relates to us the impact of prison on families).
https://rochesterdemocrat-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=160bb59fa_134abf3
f. ‘Progress is waiting beyond the struggles’ (news coverage is dominated by youth crime, failure and violence; here is a story about scholars, success and vision).
https://rochesterdemocrat-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=29c511e40_134abf4
g. Clean Slate Act moves toward adoption (Do you believe in redemption? The Clean Slate Act is an atempt at that.)
https://rochesterdemocrat-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=1a9d7555b_134abf5
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. Check out this Massage Therapy business;
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.