Today is Saturday, February 1. February is Black History Month. Black History month, orginally known as African American History Month began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the African diaspora in the United States. The 2025 Black History Month Theme is “African Americans and Labor.” for more information go to https://asalh.org/
Quote of the Week: “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.”Langston Hughes born February 1, 1901 – died May 22, 1967, American poet and activist
Featured Civil Rights Activist/Abolitionist/Pioneer for this week: Langston Hughes born February 1, 1901 – died May 22, 1967, American poet and activist
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Langston-Hughes
Special Message: ERG avoids making politcal statements or taking political positions but as we have experienced this past week there have been the threat of loss of Federal funding or contracts for organizations that support Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) or take anti-racism stances. The essence of ERG is anti-racism and we strongly support DEI principles. We encourage all that have taken part in the ERG program or receive and read this newsletter to support DEI and work to tear down the structure of racism that exists in our community and country. Although we are a volunteer organization with no staff and few volunteers we would attempt to assist you with your questions, concerns and efforts. Please contact us through a submission to the ERG website (https://exploringracism.org/contact-us/).
EVENTS
1. The United Church of Pittsford’s 2025 MLK Living the Dream Series continues; the last program of the series is 2:00 – 5:00 PM, on Sunday, February 2. The series is presented by Pittsford CommUNITY and its sponsors and hosted by the United Church of Pittsford. This event is 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. The Urban League of Rochester is presenting its monthly Virtual Speaker Series on Friday, February 7 from 1:00 – 2:00 PM. This is a free program. February speaker, Julio Jordan, will present “Cultural Sensitivities: Engaging the Latino Family.” Learn about cultural sensitivity, gain insight into Latino cultural values, and discover strategies for effectively engaging with interpreters. Register at the link below.
https://mailchi.mp/ulr/dhs-expanding-access-to-community-13859534?e=25818c1f26
3. The University of Rochester annual MLK JR. Address date has changed. It is now Friday, February 7 at the Strong Auditorium on the River Campus featuring Giancarlo Esposito see details and registraction below. You must register to attend.
https://events.rochester.edu/event/martin-luther-king-jr-commemorative-address
4. Norma Holland informed us that the Tana Grady Weliky Annual Lecture, which celebrates inclusion and excellence in medicine. The event will take place on Thursday, February 13th at 5pm in the Class of ’62 Auditorium. For details see the link below:
5. Chris Cooley and Compeer are providing a Comic Workshop for people ages 13 – 21 accompanied by a mentor/guardian on February 22 from 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM at Compeer Rochester at 259 Monroe Ave, Rochester. Please RSVP by 2/8 to erizzo@compeerrochester.org or 585-601-4222. The flyer for the program is included below. See item #XX under OPPORTUNITES for more information on this program.
6. 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 and item #YY in the OPPORTUNITIES section for more information.
7. 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:
8. Linsday Phillips shares a series of articles on music genres from the Spark, many deal with the Black experience. I recommend the one at the link immediately below, ‘The Genre-Defying Essence of Black Song’. You will find all at the link below that.
Freedom and Exploration Across Music Genres
9. Below is a link to a story from the Reveal; ‘A police officer chased a Native teen to his death. Days later, the police force shut down without explanation’.
10. Here is the latest from Janice Gassam Asare, Ph.D. and the Pink Elephant Newsletter, ‘5 Strategies to Combat DEI Resistance in the Workplace’:
(9) 5 Strategies To Combat DEI Resistance In The Workplace | LinkedIn
11. Here are two (2) articles from this week’s Beacon;
a. Immigration Crackdown;
b. New York suing Trump administration over federal funding freeze
12. Here is the latest Interrupter newsletter from the Urban League of Rochester:
https://mailchi.mp/ulr/micro-advantage-loan-program-13859626?e=25818c1f26
13. Bill Wynne provided his monthly update for February. Find it below.
14. There are 7 articles that deal with Race, Poverty, Hate or Intolerance found in D&C over the past week.
a. A ‘HANDS-UP PROGRAM’ (family homelessness is on the rise, Canadaigua has planned one solution).
b. Rebuilding Altadena, diversity example (built up wealth destroyed in the fires).
c. This woman helped create 1,000 affordable apartments (story of outstanding role model).
d. Renters’ credit could get a boost (a program to aid the building up a credit rating for those without one).
e. Auschwitz survivor has a powerful plea (article underscores danger of the lack of knowledge about the Holocaust).
f. Lunar New Year has begun, ushering in Year of the Snake (some information on the Lunar New Year.
g. Will basic income for new moms lower child poverty?
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”.
15. Chris Cooley and Compeer are looking for adults who are considering mentoring youth. The two organizations are providing a Comic Making Workshop on February 22 from 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM at Compeer Rochester at 259 Monroe Ave, Rochester. Please RSVP by 2/8 to erizzo@compeerrochester.org or 585-601-4222.
The purpose of this event is to provide an experience where potential mentors can connect with youth and share stories about their lives in a fun, comic format. Ideally adult mentors who participate will consider becoming a mentor with Compeer (but no long term commitment is required). See flyer listed as item #5 above in the EVENTS section
16. Interested in supporting Black Men in the Rochester area community? See program listed as item #6 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!
17. Stuart Mitchell is reaching out to us for assistance in identifying potential Board members for Rural & Migrant Ministry, Inc. (RMM) to help them recruit five to seven new Board members. See details below. Any interest or recommendations?
18. 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)
19. 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:
20. 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)
21. Could your business use the services of an outstanding? AIOPX leads clients through the methodologies of Operations Excellence to produce extraordinary bottom-line results. See link below.
AIOPX – Business Consulting Rochester NY Reviews – Black-Owned In Rochester
If you have an item to include in the week’s sharing we need to have it by noon on Friday.
Thank you!