Saturday, March 25, 2017

Water is Life: support is still needed for Water Protectors

Last night I went to a fundraiser to support the Standing Rock protesters. It was a moving and informative event. My biggest take away was a reminder about how very very important the earth and fresh water is for our survival. Water is life! Indigenous Peoples have always been in close relationship with Grandmother Earth and are fighting to protect her and her water every day.

Dr. Maria Michael, an eastern and western healer and Lakota, led the event last night. She shared with us some stories from the Standing Rock camps, and shared with us 4 places to donate to now. The needs are still there even if the protestors at Standing Rock were made to stop. They haven't stopped their actions elsewhere and legal help is still needed. Please help as much as you can.

I added links for us to use to become further educated about the important work these groups are doing:

1. Water Protector Legal Collective (501c3)
P.O. Box 69, Mandan, ND

2. Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (501c3)
Attn. Benita Clarke
Tribal Chairman-Harold Frazier
CRST Wakpa Waste Donation
Acct# 11703
P.O. Box 590, Eagle Butte, South Dakota 57625

3. Indigenous Environmental Network (501c3)
Attn. Tom Goldtooth
Bemidjii Main Office
P.O. Box 485, Bemidjii, MN 56619

4. Lakota Law Project 
(links also to petition to send to your representatives in the House and Senate)
Attn. Dan Sheehan
740 Front Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
info@lakotalaw.org

Thank you!






Thursday, March 23, 2017

updated list on the blog map, victims of police shootings

I did some research and added names to my blog map. I found a link for info on each of these folks, so you can do your own research too.

Charles Kinsey, N. Miami, FL, July 2016
Delrawn Small, New York, July 2016
Alva Braziel, Houston, July 2016




Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Flip the Switch: podcast from NPR

"In this episode we look at situations where someone flips the script – does the opposite of what their natural instinct is – and in this way, transforms a situation.": www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia

I could see this working with race relations.




Human Family, poem by Maya Angelou

I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.

Some declare their lives are lived
as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.

The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.

I've sailed upon the seven seas
and stopped in every land,
I've seen the wonders of the world
not yet one common man.

I know ten thousand women
called Jane and Mary Jane,
but I've not seen any two
who really were the same.

Mirror twins are different
although their features jibe,
and lovers think quite different thoughts
while lying side by side.

We love and lose in China,
we weep on England's moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.

We seek success in Finland,
are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major we're the same.

I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.



Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Beyond Ally is Accomplice

For white people in the fight for racial justice...explore the distinction between actors, allies, and accomplices in 12 ways: www.whiteaccomplices.org. This challenges us to go beyond our comfort level.

For example, I went to a protest last Saturday, in Framingham. Supporting Immigrants, Muslims, and Jews. I read the protest section of that link before going, and learned this which helped me when I went:

Engage in or support civil disobedience organized by Black People and People of Color. One of the most important things that can be done as an Ally and Accomplice is be cautious on how you take up space at direct actions and protests. Ask yourself these series of questions before and while attending such events: 
Am I following what the leadership is asking of me? 
Am I directing media to designated Black, Brown or Indigenous People? 
Am I being cautious not to control or criticize the actions of Black, Brown, or Indigenous Peoples? 
Am I checking other White People for not being good accomplices?

All of the folks at the protest were white except the organizer who I think identifies as a South Asian or Indian man. When a fellow white protester started to question his plans and leadership, I shared with this protester what I had learned. Later when I felt uncomfortable with the ending time of the protest (as the church service in the church hosting us was starting and I thought our group was being disruptive), I decided to leave instead of suggesting to him that we should leave. I am not sure this is what that site was suggesting, but I felt it was the best way to deal with my personal opinion.


Lynching History

I have been moved to learn more about the untold truth of the many thousands of folks killed in lynchings ever since I saw a photo in the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) calendar from their Community Remembrance Project:"part of our campaign to recognize the victims of lynching by collecting soil from lynching sites and creating a memorial that acknowledges the horrors of racial injustice." 



I am making donations to EJI and getting calendars to share with folks who are interested. Ask me for more info.

This site has extensive information, an interactive map, eight heroes...and more:
www.monroeworktoday.org

EJI Dedicates Marker for Lynching Victims in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama March 07, 2017