ERIC GUTSHALL: IN MEMORIAM
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Loving family man
Husband of our dear friend and former Challenging Racism Board member,
Renee Gutshall, and father to three children
Successful small businessman
Founder and President of Clarendon Home Services, dedicated to helping older residents to age in place
Passionate Arlingtonian
Long time advocate for equity in Arlington
Past president of Lyon Park Civic Association,
Chair of the Planning Commission
Dedicated public servant
Vice Chair of the Arlington County Board, in his third year of service
Vice Chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
Director of the Virginia Association of Counties representing Arlington
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Erik Gutshall, age 49, died after a brief illness on Thursday, April 17, 2020.
Erik “saw housing affordability as a fundamental challenge that must be met through bold action”. In his remarks to the Arlington County Board and to the community on January 2, 2020, he said this:
“Grounded in policies that promote equity, opportunity, stability and adaptability, we will continue to leverage new sources of AHIF (Affordable Housing Investment Fund) for lower income households and use the market to deliver new housing types for the missing middle. We have already begun the community conversation that will determine what the right housing mix is for Arlington.”
Erik was an early supporter of Challenging Racism and its mission to give participants the tools to disrupt racism where they find it.
Erik’s death is a loss not only to his family. It is a profound loss to the entire Arlington community. He was a hard-working and thoughtful problem solver. Long before he sought public office, Erik set up Clarendon Home Services because he saw a gap in providing home inspection and repair service for older homeowners that would allow them to age in an old house. When faced with seemingly insurmountable barriers to improving the Lyon Park Community House, Erik led a concerted effort to break through the barriers, resulting in a handicapped-accessible expanded community resource. He brought that spirit and expertise to the Planning Commission and to the Arlington County Board. There can be no doubt that Erik was a true public servant.
In this time of social distancing, we are prohibited from doing much of what we would like to do to help and support Renee and her family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them all.
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HOW TO HELP OTHERS IN THIS TIME OF CRISIS
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If you are interested in helping or volunteering for those in need through these very difficult times, here are some links to Arlington Government and other organizations that are looking for support:
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HIGHLIGHTS OF APRIL BOARD MEETING
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On Monday, April 20th at its monthly meeting, the Board took the following actions:
- Accepted the resignation of Renee Gutshall from the Board with regret, and our thanks for her 3 years of service.
- Voted to offer a one year contract to the final candidate for the new Executive Director. The full Board conducted interviews with the final four excellent candidates over the last three weeks and arrived at a recommendation. A formal announcement and introduction will follow soon.
- Adopted a policy on Curriculum revision, and an amendment to the Facilitator Policy.
- Adopted a licensing fee strategy for all of the services and products that Challenging Racism can provide:
- Challenging Racism: Learning How for Secondary Students, a new curriculum written by Jennifer Goen and Carolyn Crumpler from HB-Woodlawn Alternative Middle and High School program, and funded by a generous grant from the Arlington Community Foundation.
- Challenging Racism: Getting Started
- Challenging Racism: Learning How through Stories and Conversations
- Challenging Racism: Learning How for Educators
- Made definite plans for a Board retreat session on revising the vision, mission and values statements of Challenging Racism
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REGISTRATION IS OPEN
2nd Annual Running Against Racism 5K Run / Walk VIRTUAL!
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PLANNING ON GETTING OUTSIDE THIS WEEKEND?
Sign up for Challenging Racism's Virtual 5K...and SPREAD THE WORD! May 16 is just 3 weeks away!
Actively combating/resisting racism is a local and national issue - and the wonderful thing about a virtual event is, it's worldwide!
Check our website
here
for more information on how to register or how to become sponsor!
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CHANGES IN THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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We welcome Gail Perry to the Board of Challenging Racism. Although she is new to the Board she has been with Challenging Racism since fall, 2014 in the Swanson
Learning How
Group. Gail participated in the first
Learning to Lead
facilitator training in 2016, and interned with Tim Cotman in a small group for “Let’s Talk about Race”, a 5 session Challenging Racism series for the Partnership for Family and Youth in 2016-17.
Gail is a high school English teacher at the APS Langston High School Continuation Program, and as such is an inveterate reader of books and articles of possible use in our curriculum. She is an active member of Little River Turnpike UCC Church, encouraging and sometimes facilitating conversations on race at Little River. Her persistence brought a 2020 Lenten Study group to Little River on the book
White Awake: An Honest look at What it Means to Be White
, by Daniel Hill. The group was facilitated by veteran facilitators Monique Brown and Dawn Kyser.
One of Gail’s major focuses for her personal work in challenging racism is the inequity and racism in the criminal justice system, including the school to prison pipeline. In 2018, she co-facilitated the first public book group for the Challenging Racism
Continued
program, and in May is co-facilitating a book group with Judith Knight and the social justice board of the Clarendon United Methodist Church on How to Be An Anti-racist by Ibram X. Kendi.
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We say good-bye to Renee Gutshall in the same month that we welcome Gail Perry to the Board. Renee resigned from the Board a few weeks ago, and her resignation was accepted April 20. Renee is an alumna of the 2015-16
Learning How
Group which met at Gunston Elementary School; at the time, she had children at Drew Montessori Elementary School.
Despite her busy personal life and a professional life at EPA, Renee joined the Board the following year, 2017. She served until her husband became ill this winter. Renee was instrumental in thinking through our first Strategic Plan approved in 2018. She provided both her dining room table and her logical thinking to this Strategic Plan effort. She also provided leadership in the revision of the Bylaws and served on the Governance Committee for the last two years. Renee has lent a hand as a volunteer for every fundraiser and special event we planned.
Our hearts are broken for her as she copes with the recent tragic loss of her husband, Erik Gutshall at the young age of 49.
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Challenging Racism -
Learning to Lead
REGISTER NOW to Learn New Skills for an Anti-Racist Life
Challenging Racism:
Learning to Lead
is an intense 5-day facilitation training program that provides the skills and training to facilitate any group where race or topics related to race are likely to arise. The course provides direct work on how to create safe spaces for difficult conversations in any setting.
Learning to Lead
will be offered this summer from July 6 to 10. You can find more information on CR's website
here
or you can register by clicking on this button:
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Challenging Racism -
Learning How
and
Getting Started
In March, the CR Board cancelled all in person events until the week of May 11. That date action was superseded by the orders to remain sheltered in place until June 10, 2020 issued by the Governor of Virginia.
All scheduled sessions of Challenging Racism:
Getting Started
have been postponed to the fall or cancelled.
On the other hand we are proud of the fact that a 4 hour version of the Challenging Racism curriculum that was developed at the request of the Arlington County Sheriff’s office has been approved by the DJIC accreditation body for professional development credit for law enforcement. The curriculum begins with Challenging Racism:
Getting Started
"Racism in Housing – Redlining", and for the second half, "Being Black in a White World – Identity Development, Racism and Racial Microaggressions". It is our hope that when the virus controls subside, we can provide this training to our first class of law enforcement professionals.
Challenging Racism:
Learning How
APS Group at Campbell / Tuckahoe continues with the Zoom equivalent of session 10 next week, April 29. Our Interfaith Group is meeting for sessions 6-10 on Zoom. The two groups hope to meet jointly in person after June 10 for Session 11; June 10 is when the Governor’s order expires, if and only if, it actually does. Likely masks and social distancing will be required for any group for quite a while.
The facilitators for these two groups, Dawn Kyser, Stephanie Hammel, Melissa Stone and Samantha Fletcher, have become our pilot developers for Zoom conversations, even though this is not their preferred way of conducting conversations. They are making the revisions needed as they go along and their participants are gamely attending. We thank everyone for their flexibility.
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How to Be an Antiracist
Challenging Racism: Continued VIRTUAL Book Club
NEW DATE
The next Challenging Racism: Continued - Book Club will discuss How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. You can find the book at the library or in most bookstores.
Tuesday, May 5th, 2020
6:30 to 8:30 pm
Details and Zoom Meeting link will be sent to those who register on Monday, May 4th.
Discussion Leaders:
The discussion will be joined by the social justice board of the Clarendon United Methodist Church.
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You can find more information about the book and the author
here
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CONTACT
Challenging Racism: Continued
(703) 919-6425
continued@challengingracism.org
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Race, Economy, and COVID-19: How America's Race Problem Exacerbated the Crisis
A Virtual Book Talk with Eduardo Porter
Tuesday, April 29, 2020
2:00 pm ET
In a timely new book,
American Poison: How Racial Hostility Destroyed Our Promise
, New York Times economics reporter Eduardo Porter examines “how racial animus has stunted the development of nearly every institution crucial for a healthy society, including organized labor, public education, and the social safety net.” Now these institutions are failing us all.
The author will discuss how we arrived here and the lessons history holds for finding a better way forward. As we make plans to rebuild from this crisis, we must not repeat the exclusionary mistakes of the past. We can emerge to a healthier society—and a stronger economy—than the one we left behind, if we choose to make it so.
You can find more information about the book and the author
here
.
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Arlington Public Library Book Clubs
ALL CLUBS POSTPONED UNTIL SEPTEMBER, 2020
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Thursday April 2, 2020
7:30 - 9:00 pm
Central Library
Barbara M. Donnellan Auditorium
1015 N. Quincy St.
Arlington, VA, 22201
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Other Local Reading Groups
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4251 S. Campbell Ave, Arlington, VA 22206
Meets at the Busboys and Poets in Shirlington on the 1st Saturday of every month from 9:00 - 11:00 am.
ALL MEETINGS POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
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The Impact of COVID-19 on U.S. Households, Financial Capability Month, Leaders of Color in Philanthropy and More!
Read the most recent
Scorecard Brief
from Prosperity Now to find lots of information on inequity in the virus' impact.
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Why Don't we Know Who the Coronavirus Victims Are?
“If we can’t see racial disparities, then we can’t see the racist policies behind any disparities and deaths. If we can’t see racist policies, we can’t eliminate racist policies, or replace them with anti-racist policies that protect equity and life.”
This is what Ibram X. Kendi wrote recently in The Atlantic. You can read the full article
here
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SURJ:
Combating Anti-Asian Racism and COVID-10 Toolkit
SURJ is offering this document as a guide to help illuminate the specifically anti-Asian racist, xenophobic scapegoating that is occurring in these times and to offer resources to combat it.
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Check out the resources that our facilitators Dawn Kyser and Stephanie Hammel are sharing with their APS
Learning How
Group at Campbell / Tuckahoe APS
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Articles
- Washington Post: Two black men say they were kicked out of Walmart for wearing protective masks. Others worry it will happen to them.
- Newsone: How Coronavirus Affects Black People: Civil Rights Groups Call Out Racial Health Disparities
- NPR: When Xenophobia spreads like a virus
- Washington Post: Perspective | In the hands of racist officials, the COVID-19 pandemic may be a weapon
- The Root: Your Racism Is Showing: Coronavirus and the Racist History of Pandemics
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Teaching Tolerance Resources and Others for Talking to Children
- Teaching Tolerance: Speaking Up Against Racism Around the New Coronavirus (aimed at kids but broadly applicable)
- Embrace Race: Supporting Children in the Struggle Against COVID-19
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Destinations
(ALL CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE BUT SOME RESTAURANTS DOING CARRY-OUT OR DELIVERY)
- Immigrant Food - a new "cause-casual" restaurant at 1701 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20006
- Determined: The 400 year struggle for black equality Virginia Museum of History & Culture in Richmond. The story is told through the lives of 30 people, some famous, some not. It will go on through March 29, 2020.
- The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today - Every three years, artists living and working in the United States are invited by the museum to submit one of their recent portraits to a panel of experts. The selected artworks reflect the compelling and diverse approaches contemporary artists are using to tell the American story through portraiture. National Portrait Gallery, 8th St NW & F St NW, Washington, DC 20001
- Rosa Parks: In her own words Library of Congress
Audio
Books
- Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad. Based off the best selling workbook, Me and White Supremacy teaches readers how to dismantle the privilege within themselves so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too.
- The Revisioners by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton. Following her National Book Award– nominated debut novel, A Kind of Freedom, Margaret Wilkerson Sexton returns with this equally elegant and historically inspired story of survivors and healers, of black women and their black sons, set in the American South.
- Self-Portrait in Black and White by Thomas Chatterton Williams. A meditation on race and identity from one of our most provocative cultural critics. A reckoning with the way we choose to see and define ourselves, Self-Portrait in Black and White is the searching story of one American family’s multigenerational transformation from what is called black to what is assumed to be white.
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Share local events, field trips, webinars, books and podcasts with Challenging Racism Operations Coordinator Pilar Afshar at
info@challengingracism.org
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