Today is Saturday, January 25. Wednesday, January 29 is the Lunar New Year marks the beginning of the lunar calendar and is celebrated across East and Southeast Asia. Families gather for festive meals, traditions, and cultural activities, welcoming the Year of the Snake with hopes of prosperity and good fortune.
Quote of the Week: “When you come into your own, when you’re in your skin, you’re unstoppable, because you’re living in the moment of life.” Jenifer Lewis; born January 25, 1957 – present. American actor, singer, community activist, and writer.
Featured Civil Rights Activist/Abolitionist/Pioneer for this week: Jenifer Lewis; born January 25, 1957 – present. American actor, singer, community activist, and writer.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0507338/bio/
EVENTS
1. The United Church of Pittsford’s 2025 MLK Living the Dream Series continues; next program at 7:00 PM, on Wednesday, January 29 and February 2. The series is presented by Pittsford CommUNITY and its sponsors and hosted by the United Church of Pittsford. All events are free and will be held at 123 S. Main St., Pittsford. Free parking in the lot off Sunset.
For more information, visit https://pittsfordcommunity.org/
2. Jeanne Strazzobosco invites you to the In This Moment Book Launch & Panel Discussion, Featuring City Council Member Stanley Martin & Artist Luvon Sheppard presented by George Eastman Museum Monday January 27,
6:30-8:30 PM. See promo and registration link in the two files below.
3. George Yeadon shared RIT’s Expressions of King’s Legacy featuring Deborah Archer to be held on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 from 12:00 – 2:00 PM. The program now includes a performance by Garth Fagan Dance. See flyer below.
https://t.e2ma.net/message/dhzf2l/1z5372ud
4. George Yeadon also shares that the University of Rochester will hold its annual MLK JR. Address on Thursday, January 30 at the Strong Auditorium on the River Campus featuring Giancarlo Esposito see details and registraction below.
https://events.rochester.edu/event/mlk-commemorative-address-2025
5. Melanie Russo shares that there will be a retreat-style event for Black men in Rochester, scheduled for Friday, February 28th, 2025, at the MCC Forward Center. This collaborative effort between RMAPI, the City of Rochester, Action for a Better Community and others, will empower Black men in their job search through confidence-building, strength discovery, skill enhancement, access to emerging career opportunities and more. See information below.
6. Registration is now open for the fourth annual Antiracist Education Conference, to be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 1. It’s completely free and will be held via Zoom. See below for information on the Keynote speaker and to register.
NEWS, HISTORY & RESOURCES:
7. We share a number of items on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as part of this past week’s commemoration:
a. Below is a tribute offered by the Greater Rochester Martin Luther King Jr. Commission;
b. MLK knew that health equity and civil rights complement each other Opinion piece
c. Martin Luther King Jr. urged us to face fear with love, so speak boldly Opinion piece
d. Have you ever been at an event where it opened with the signing ‘The Black National Anthem’? You will find the words in our RESOURCE section and below.
e. The theme of the Greater Rochester Martin Luther King Jr. Commission MLK Day 2025 Commemoration was “Maintaining Infinite Hope” inspired by King’s ‘Shattered Dreams’ sermon. See below for excerpts from that sermon.
Shattered Dreams (Wisdom from a Dr. King Sermon) – Creator Villa
f. Richard Glaser shares words of Martin Luther King on providing his thoughts on jazz that should be read. See link below.
A stepping stone toward all of these … MLK on jazz – JazzRochester
g. Bill Wynne provides this piece on the presidential inauguration falling on MLK Day ‘Worst Birthday Ever’.
8. We repeat the information John Rodriguez shared on a program that can reduce the racial wealth gap. See link below.
Home
9. Here are two (2) articles from this week’s Beacon;
a. A push to position 11,000 youth for upward mobility;
A push to position 11,000 youth for upward mobility – Rochester BeaconRochester Beacon
b. How to improve policing with evidence-based training.
How to improve policing with evidence-based training – Rochester BeaconRochester Beacon
10. Here is the latest Interrupter newsletter from the Urban League of Rochester:
https://mailchi.mp/ulr/micro-advantage-loan-program-13859459?e=25818c1f26
11. Liz Brown shares an article highlighting Meta founder’s own criticism of DEI. See below
12. There are 7 articles that deal with Race, Poverty, Hate or Intolerance found in D&C over the past week.
a.UPSTATE NY HAD THE LARGEST SENECA VILLAGE IN AMERICA .
b.Mayors say they’re ready to protect migrants (what protections do sanctuary cities offer?).
c. COLLECTOR HAS MLK SPEECH, MINUS ‘DREAM’ (This article explains King’s’I have a dream’ was an inspired not a planned part of famous speech).
d. ‘WE NEED TO HEAR WHAT HE SAYS’ (Civil rights leaders urge Trump to honor King’s work).
e. Black heritage at risk amid Calif. wildfires
f. Black community reacts to contrast of Trump and MLK
g. Lawsuit in Nichols’ death is amended (to address Memphis’s police code of silence).
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”.
13. Interested in supporting Black Men in the Rochester area community? See program listed as item #5 above in the EVENTS section. Please read the following message:
Are you looking to be intentional about attracting and hiring talent from marginalized groups or those who have been historically excluded from the workforce? If so, I’d love to connect! Whether your focus is on individuals from re-entry populations, refugees, people with disabilities, or other historically excluded groups, we can work together to align your hiring strategies with available workforce development resources.
Please reach out to Melanie Russo at melanie.russo@greaterrochesterchamber.com
Let’s work together to create meaningful opportunities for all!
14. Interested in scholarships for next year’s college expenses? Check out the Scholarships that the Urban League of Rochester organizes. Applications are now open. Deadlines vary for the various scholarships. Don’t delay some deadlins are as early as March 1, 2025.
Scholarships — Urban League of Rochester (urbanleagueroc.org)
15. The Rochester Area Community Foundation (RACF) Scholarship program portal is now open. The portal will close on February 28, 2025.
Rochester Area Scholarships and Award Resources – Rochester Area Community Foundation (racf.org)
SUPPORT BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES:
16. 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)
17. In of need of a Notary to notarize your documents? Give IPM Rochester Mobile Notary a try. See link below.
IPM Rochester Mobile Notary Rochester NY Reviews (blackownedinrochester.com)
If you have an item to include in the week’s sharing we need to have it by noon on Friday.
Thank you!